Candle Cove: The Novel
by The Nickname
Summary: Rated T for violence and sexual references. A girl runs away from home and finds herself in a world of piracy and is hunted by evil scallywags, sinister creatures and a nefarious skeleton known as the Skin Taker. A full novel inspired by the Creepypasta Candle Cove. I have not polished it properly, so expect mistakes and poor word choices. Nevertheless, enjoy and leave a comment.
1. Chapter 1 - Welcome to our Happy Ship

**Welcome To Our Happy Ship**

Janice Stewart lived in a home within a suburban region of London, though she herself didn't really know which one. She had rarely been taken anywhere beyond her home town and had never been given anything to show her where or what anything was. She had no clue of what was going on in the outside world and had never been told anything that can give her an understanding of the world she lived in.

Not that she would welcome such complications in her life, as her current life had enough problems for her to suffer through.

When she was a young child, her mother disappeared and was never seen again. Despite how much she missed her and wanted to know where she went, the rest of her family kept her in the dark on a lot of details. And when they didn't they would explain it in a way that she didn't fully understand, and would then scold her for her involvement. Janice was left lonely, confused, self-loathing, unloved and slowly descended into a dark realm she would sooner escape, had she the will.

Everyday was the same from the beginning. She would go to school to learn alongside her sister, becoming the outcast of her peers alongside her family. She would spend her free time using what she had learns and trying to apply it to solving the mystery about her mother. Of course, a lot of it did not fit in properly, but as she got older, specifically to the age of 6, something that her teacher taught to the students changed everything. It was the one thing that was missing.

Death.

With every word spoken by her teacher drove the poor girl steadily out of the torment of her own imagination and shifted her into the terrors of the real world. A world that she had been buried away from for far too long. She had no clue what to do with herself or whether there was anything that could make her happy, especially since the concept had all but become a distant memory.

"Hey Janice! Hurry up and get inside or I'll lock you out!"

There she was again. Her sister, with her cruel ways and her sinister abhorrence for her. There used to be a time when Janice would've cry from all the times that she hurt her and called her names, but those days had long since passed and had been replaced with a hollow acceptance. Janice followed her sister home from school and they had just got back to their house.

"Can you help me with some homework?" Janice asked, hoping in vain that her sister would suddenly treat her any differently than she always had. It would not be worth it, and she knew that, but hope was the only thing that Janice had anymore. Because no matter what she was supposed to expect, she was no longer scared of what consequences awaited her.

Melrose, her sister at 11, paused and stood silently for a moment. Whether it was out of frustration or out of actual thought, she simply stood there unmoving. Suddenly, she turned around and looked down at her young sibling, spite glistening in her eyes. "Look at you… "Can you do my homework?"" she mocked as she tilted her head to the side to emphasise her attitude.

"You just cannot do anything for yourself can you?" Melrose sneered in cruel judgement, "You always have to get someone else to fix a problem for you". Janice replied "It's not my fault" in a pitiful attempt to hold her ground, as ineffective as it may have been. Melrose, bloodboiling, yelled "Not your fault?! How is that not your fault! This is all your fault! It's always your fault! Everything is your fault! It's your fault me and dad are miserable! It's your fault you're such a stupid and useless little brat! It's your fault mom is dead!"

This last one, of all the insults thrown her way, cut like a knife through butter. If it were any day before, that would've meant nothing, just a foreign word to replace 'disappear and never come back with no reason'. But now, cursed with the knowledge of death and what it represents, a pain and sense of anguish long drowned beneath acceptance had resurfaced, in the form of tears spilling from the girl's eyes.

Melrose triumphantly watched the girl cry, and snarled "You really are such a baby, you know that?" Janice said nothing, and instead feel to her knees and cried out loud, determined to let the pain take a hold of her spirits and bleed it dry. "Me and dad will never love you" she spat viciously, venomous as a snake as she opened the door. She turned back for a moment, "And you can get skinned alive for all we care". With that, Melrose slammed the door and locked it, hoping to trap her unwanted sister outside.

Janice spent several hours sitting on that pathway outside her door, unable to move or to thank of what to do next. Her already miserable life had changed for the worst, as a new string of problems were presenting themselves to her. At this point, the only chance for comfort from all this stress and pain was a brief sleep, and so she started looking for a way inside the house. But as she soon found, her sister had locked all the windows in an effort to keep her sister trapped out in the cold.

Janice had no option but to use the small dog flap on the front door to get inside, robbing her of whatever dignity she may have had left at that point. And as she looked inside as she was halfway through the flap, she realised that this was Melrose's plan all along. Melrose was watching her crawl through like a dog with a grin on her face, delighting in the image and what it represented. Janice didn't care and simply walked past her to get to her bedroom before collapsing onto her bed.

* * *

She couldn't sleep, no matter how hard she tried. He had always heard stories about people being arrested and trapped in jail for doing evil things, and couldn't help but imagine herself as one of those people. She had rarely experienced what it was like to be free, to do whatever she wanted and to get away with it and maybe even be loved for it. But she soon started to think that it was wrong to feel that way, since apparently only the most evil kinds of people want things like that. Without a hope for herself, she sat silently and hoped to finally fall asleep.

Hours past and night eventually closed in around the house, cloaking Janice's room in darkness as it spilled in though her window. She had not moved from her original position from when she had laid down to sleep, and she had yet to shut her eyes beyond an occasional and lifeless blink. Her head was filled with too many complicated thoughts; problems that needed to be solved, questions that needed to be answered, and a sickness that demanded to be cured.

There was nothing for her here, nothing but a life that she would never accept. This much she was sure of. But what of the outside world. She knew nothing about it, not what dangers she would be forced to face and possible be hurt by and what villains she could encounter who would prey upon her. There was no way to prepare for what horrors she would face on the outside.

But then again, she thought to herself, I already know what horrors are here where I am now, and I know that there is never gonna be anything better. Nothing would be worth stating here. At least on the outside, she would hope that there is something better; something that can make all of her struggles worthwhile. Perhaps she could venture out across the world and find treasures, or even sail across the see and discover new lads and new people she can be friends with. She looked around her dark room and made her decision.

Anything was better than this.

Everything was better than all of this.

She got out of her bed and got dressed out of her pyjamas, dressing into a pair of overalls with a yellow raincoat. She then headed into the kitchen and pulled some food from the refrigerator, tying it together in a small blanket and carrying it by its knotted tips. Finally, she took looked inside a kitchen draw and took a knife, sheathing it inside her raincoat pocket in case she must defend herself. With all her preparations met, she stepped out the front door and headed into the surrounding darkness, content in the hopes for her new and unknown future.

She could not tell how much time had passed as she ventured into the blue, nor had she any knowledge of how far away she was from her old home. Still, she continued, the buildings began to disappear and be replaced with trees and wild overgrowth. The only light she had left to guide her path was the stars and the full moon, shining in the sky and bleeding a lunar glow through the gaps in the tree tops. She was directionless, nowhere to go and nowhere to stay, but she held firm the belief that something greater than what she had before was just on the horizon.

Perhaps she would be a knight and find a castle and meet a queen with remarkable beauty. Perhaps she would be an explorer that would discover lost artefacts and battle evil dictators. Or perhaps…. "No" she muttered to herself, "That would make me a bad person". As she continued in silence, she began to consider the prospects. "What do _I _care if I become a bad guy? I might as well be if everyone's going to hate me… and I get treasure!" She smiled triumphantly and explained "I'm gonna be the greatest pirate in the world!"

As she was spending her time feeding her ambitions, she had steadily lost concentration on where she was going. Before she could even realise what had happened, she was sent hurtling down into a pit of darkness before landing in icy cold water, having stumbled into an eroded chasm and becoming trapped with no hope of escape. She flapped her arms around futilely and screamed, desperately hoping to get the attention of someone close, of course to no avail.

The water surrounding her began to shift and Janice found herself being dragged further into the darkness. She reached her hands out in whatever direction se could, hoping to catch something in her grasp and to stop herself from being dragged away. She flailed pathetically as she occasionally descended into the twisting stream, before abruptly returning to the surface for a merciful yet brief chance for air.

It steadily got worse, and her body was getting submerged more often, her lungs straining to retain any breath she could maintain as she was tossed around. The river bent and turned in many sudden direction and sent poor Janice flipping and flopping without control. Finally, she could no longer feel any bends in the river and the water deepened, and Janice was left in a wide open body of water as large waves crashed around her.

She held her head above the water and screamed if terror, before finding a truly odd sight. She looked upwards and was not met with the darkness of a cave, but instead a series of dazzling glowing stars shining above her. To her left, she spotted the full moon, and Janice could confirm that she was undeniably outside the cave again. Were she to find delight in this discovery, it would be seized away by the cruel hand of fate as a large wave collapsed upon her and she was dragged under the surface.

She writhed and screamed silently, abandoning her air in a fit of hysteria and panic. She struggled to swim to the surface, but her weakening arms were hindering her efforts. She only barely managed to gather enough strength to push herself to the surface one last time before she screamed "HELP ME!" one last time. With that, what little strength she had left surrendered to the cruel waves, and she shut her eyes as she disappeared under the waves again. Her futile attempts to breathe slows and her body stilled, and all she could think about in her dwindling consciousness was one thing.

"Why?"

As her life was slowly coming to an end, she felt her body suddenly begin twirling in the water, the currents having inexplicably stirred around her and toss her body. She hadn't the strength to open her eyes as she floated to the surface once more, the source of the ocean's odd behaviour remaining unknown, yet still very close. As her ear drifted above the waves and was exposed to the cold night air, she heard something that taunted her with hope before she lost all consciousness. She heard a voice, a real voice, calling to her.

"Young child, don't ye fear" it spoke, "Ye shall be safe".

* * *

The next moment Janice knew, a miracle in and of itself as she could never guess that there would be a next moment for her at all, Janice found herself completely dry. She was laying still atop something moderately comfortable, allowing her to safely get her bearings on her environment. She opened her eyes and found naught but an indistinguishable blur of moving colours, none of which she could tell apart from thee other due to the surrounding darkness.

"Is she still alive even?" a voice spoke, startling the already frazzled girl. "Obviously, Percy. She be openin' 'er eyes" another voice answered, a voice much more gruff than the first. "Where…" Janice tried her hardest to push breath past her lips, her head spinning from confusion and nausea. "Hear that? She just said something!" the second voice exclaimed, "Miss? Are ye hurt? Can ye hear me?" Janice had regained enough strength to sit herself up and rub her eyes tiredly, only to gasp in fright at the sight before her.

Two large men, both dressed in dark coats with large hats were standing before her, staring down at her with curious gazes. Janice screamed in fright and yelled "AH! Who are you?!" while shuffling back and bumping into a wall behind her. In this frightening situation, one immediate consolation is that the first man suddenly seemed as frightened as Janice herself. The first pirate screamed and fell back, shuffling back in a similar fashion.

"Please! Don't kill me, miss!" the grovelling stranger shrieked in a panic, "I've been good to ye!" Janice's fear turned back to confusion at this unexpected behaviour, raining an eyebrow sceptically. The second pirate turned his gaze down to his colleague, who was crying at this point, and snarled "Stop that whining! Ye be disgracing yerself as a pirate".

"Pirates!" Janice thought in surprise, "So that's what's going on!" Her confusion returned to its previous state of fear as she contemplated the future, based what she had come to know about pirates. Vile and reckless villains that steal and attack people, villainous enough to go to jail and even be… killed. Janice couldn't help but cringe as the memory of death and its implications returned to plague her spirit.

But then, the standing pirate looked toward Janice and offered an oddly warm grin. "Fergive him, lassie. And apologies fer the crude introduction" he insisted in a professional tone, though hindered by his thick Scottish accent. He pulled his hat off and bowed to her politely, continuing "I be Poppy, an' this… fool beside me be Percy" with a final sneer in Percy's direction. The pair watched as Percy stood up quickly and dusted himself off, trying fruitlessly to regain some dignity.

"Sir please" the girl asked nervously as to not provoke her captive, "Can you tell me where I am?" Poppy practically beamed as he stood upright and held his arms out, "Why lassie, ye be on the grea'est ship in the world!" Without warning, Poppy reached out and grabbed Janice by her hand, before excitedly pulling her to the door of the cabin. He pushed the door open and led Janice to the main deck of the ship as they sailed through the endless blue ocean.

Janice looked around at the spectacular vessel, marvelling at its design and all its complexities. The entire ship was built with dark brown wood and all its features, banisters, staircases and other such structures having a fancy design to them. Wherever she turned, there was yet another crewmember working to manage the ship's course and integrity. Poppy grinned at the girl's fascination as he finished, "Wel'ome to the Laughingstock"!

If Janice didn't know any better, she would believe that the ship began shifting on its own as he said this. Were it not for a delighted chuckle that she seemed to hear from out of nowhere, she would assume she had just imagine it. She ran to the bow of the ship and looked town, finding a wonderful sight that made her briefly smile. Along the frontal curve of the ship was a large, wooden plate that resembled a woman's face, a face that smiled with large lips and a toothy grin.

The sight of such a magnificent structure and the beauty of the woman's face would have been enough, but the girl was not prepared for the most unbelievable part of this experience. Before her eyes and beyond what she could understand or explain, she saw the mouth widen into a smile and the eyes turn towards her. "Welcome aboard, my dear" the ship greeted in a kindly, if somewhat posh and aristocratic manner, "Upon me, you shall always be safe". Janice blushed to herself as the ship began laughing delightedly, Poppy chuckling as he looked on.

Percy was less delighted by the girl's admiration for their ship, climbing to the top of the lookout's perch to oversee the lay of the land. But then, as his eyes scanned the yonder blue, they fell upon a black figure emerging in the distance and steadily approaching them. His smile fell and he pulled a spyglass from his coat, peering through it to investigate the unknown structure with greater clarity. What he saw, as he lost his grip in his spyglass in sheer terror, turned him pale as a ghost.

"Oh dear! Oh dear!" Percy stammered in sheer hysteria, leaning over the banister as far as possible to address the crew. He screamed at the top of his lungs "The Crackerjacks are on the horizon! Approaching for starboard!" before swooned and fell unconscious and dangled limply atop the banister. His words had instilled panic in the crew, especially in Janice, who immediately ran to Poppy and clung to his black cloak. Poppy, however, wasn't afraid, and instead held an enraged sneer on his lip.

Panting from panic, Janice screamed "What is that?! What is the Crackerjack?!" as she stared in horror at the approaching shadow. "Pirates, Janice. They are pirates! Evil ones!" Poppy answered with a displeased growl, "They be here to try and take our boo'y again!" Tears falling from her straining eyes, Janice hugged Poppy's side and pleaded "Sir… I wanna go home!" "I'm afraid _this_ be yer home now, lassie" Poppy answered as he gently pulled her behind him, "But they ain't gonna touch a hair on yer 'ead, or they be answerin' to me!"

* * *

The Crackerjack ship had by now come close enough for Janice and the crew to see, along with the crew that commanded the vessel. A multitude of repulsive and hideous beings manned the deck, only a number of which remotely resembling human beings. Janice had never seen the like of it in her life, and could not describe these villains and anything else besides monsters. And as she watched as these fiends closed in on her and her protectors, her gaze fell upon the figure manning the wheel.

Possibly the most human creature on the ship, a pale figure stood observing them whilst remaining unmoving like a statue. The vile creature had ghostly white skin and sported a thick, black beard. This bear was split open by a large and ghastly smile, a series of ling and needle like teeth glistening in the sun. The fiend wore a monocle in one eye and a red coat with golden trims, one of his red sleeves ending in a rusty hook instead of a hand.

"Horace the Horrible" Poppy snarled under his breath, and Janice immediately sensed a history between her protector and this adversary. Horace's ship began following the Laughingstock at a steady pace, and Horace approached the port side to address his opponents. Poppy turned to Percy and immediately rolled his eyes in disappointment, as Percy was already nowhere to be seen in the heat of this situation. With a shrug, Poppy stepped to the starboard side of the ship and sought to consult with their enemy.

"Therrre be nowherrre ye can rrrun frrrom mw, Laughingstock!" Horace snarled, "I be the grrreatest pirrrrate, sorrrcerrrerrr, and vain villain of the worrrld". As Janice listened to his bestial voice, it seemed ever more so to her that these villains were as far removed from humanity as possible. "But therrre be still a chance forrr ye". He pointed his hook towards the crew and barked "Surrrenderrr yerrr wench and ye booty. Only then may ye surrrvive ourrr awesome powerrr!"

Irritated, Poppy stepped forward as Janice ran inside the cabin for safety, the red bearded buccaneer roaring "Ye'll not 'ave that lass, Horace; and I woulny sell her to ye. I would rather go to 'ell and drag ye down with me by yer filthy beard!" "Bold talk for an old cripple!" Horace spat back, "Ye were warned!" With a dramatic turn of his heel, Horace marched to the middle of the main deck and yelled "All ye scallywags! Man the cannons and await my orrrderrr!"

The bow of the crackerjack also had a face, similar in nature to the magical bow of the laughing stock, though it sported decay and wear. The bow closer resembled the head of a rotted corpse, with glowing green eyes and a permanently open maw with jagged planks for teeth. The fearsome bow of the Crackerjack grinned to unnatural proportions as it whispered in a ghostly tone "All cannons fire!" Poppy, in response to this, commended "Men! Man the cannons and fire at will!"

As the chaos and carnage began take place between the two pirate rivals, Janice had hidden deep within the powers of the ship. She finally stopped in the stairwell at the bow end of the ship before finding a corner to cower in behind some unsecured barrels. A single lantern shone above her and rocked about violently as the ship began taking hits from the aggressor. Janice once again began crying from sheer hysteria, more scared for herself than she had ever been in the past.

"Young lady" a familiar voice bellowed around her, "Your friends are going to need your help outside". Janice shook her head and continued hiding, but Ms. Laughingstock continued "I will surely sink and you will sink with me". "Why is this happening?" the poor girl whimpered, "Why do all of these horrible things happen to me?" She resumed her crying and her pitiful hopes for safety and something to save her from this cruel fate.

"You just cannot do anything for yourself can you?"

Janice almost immediately stopped crying as a familiar voice filled her ears. It was not the Laughingstock, it was somebody else; somebody she had never intended to think about ever again. "You always have to get someone else to fix a problem for you". Janice's features softened and her composure returned. "This is all your fault! It's always your fault! Everything is your fault! It's your fault me and dad are miserable! It's your fault you're such a stupid and useless little brat! It's your fault mom is dead!"

Janice disappeared as these words echoed in her head, withdrawing to some deep place within her mind as something else took hold. Pure and unrestrained rage plagued her spirit, corrupting her mind and her body with heinous and savage thoughts. She gritted her teeth and drooled carelessly, her eyes becoming bloodshot and her lips twisting into an exaggerated snarl. This was a side of her that she had never known; never experienced in her whole life; a feeling that she had refused to feel.

WHAT THE HELL HAS SHE BEEN MISSING?

She saw the barrels and pulled one open, finding a black substance inside, exactly what she was hoping for. She took a pole and dunked it in the repulsive fluid, before suddenly swinging it in the air and hitting the lantern. The glass shattered and the pole instantly set itself ablaze. She then staggered up the stairs with the pole in hand and pulled the trapdoor to the main deck open, before slowly stepping outside.

She saw Poppy as he yelled "Mr. Stankoff! Get to yer post!" to one of the crewmembers. The recipient, a tall man with a black beard, replied "Cannot, sir! The enemy gunners have me in thier sights" and continued to hide behind the ship's banister. Janice turned to see the cannons and stepped out into the open. Poppy spotted her and yelled a series of pleas and panicked commands that she no longer heard.

The whizzing of passing cannonballs aimed at her didn't faze her, fear having been abandoned in this odd state of single-mindedness. She neared a cannon and used the torch to light the fuse, before grabbing either side of it and steadily aiming it. With a loud _'BOOM!'_, the shot was fired towards the Crackerjack and struck it where it seemed to count the most, straight into the face on the ship's bow. Splinters of wood flew in random directions and the ship wailed in a high pitched shriek.

Janice ran to the next cannon and did the same as before, this time aiming the cannon at Horace the Horrible. The villain in question was currently barking orders in a state of panic, shouting "Rrretrrreat! Rrretrrreat and set sail ferrr open waterrrs!" The ship turned away and the cannon went off, Horace unfortunately spotting the cannonball in time and ducking with a scream of fright. Janice simply stared on as the ship steadily began sinking in the distance and her brief fit of homicidal intent began to drain away.

Her breath quickened as she looked at the stick in her hand, before squeezing in fear and tossing it into the water. "What am I doing?!" she exclaimed, unable to comprehend what she had just become. Why did she suddenly do those horrible things?! Why did she _want_ to do those things? And most concerning of all; why did she enjoy every second of it? These inquiries were suddenly interrupted when she turned around to find the rest of the crew.

Before she knew it, she found herself in the arms of a terrified Poppy as the rest of the crew erupted with applause. "That girl saved us all!" one pirate in a white coat cheered, while the other named Stankoff added "Drinks all around for our heroine!" The pirate continued to chant and cheer in the name of their saviour, al while Poppy looked the girl over for any harm. The white coated pirate approached and asked "Any assistance, Poppy?", only for Poppy to smile and shake his head in response.

"Never 'ave I seen such bravery in all me years, lassie" Poppy complemented while placing a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder, "Ye were a grea' 'elp to the crew". Janice' cheeks flushed red as she offered a small smile, "I'm… actually happy I did that… that horrible man was so awful, I was happy to get back at him!" Poppy chuckled heartily and answered "There's plenty more adventures where those came from" before pausing with a frown, "If ye want to join the crew".

"Now wait a minute" a high pitched, snivelly voice piped up, "If anyone's gonna decide who's gonna be a part of the crew, then it's going to be yer captain". All eyes turned towards Percy, who marched pompously to the pair and stated "And if you think that a band of ruthless pirates are going to be represented by little girls, then you have another thing coming". The pirates murmured amongst themselves at these words, all of them wondering what it actually would mean for them as pirates to begin recruiting little girls.

"I couldn't agree with ye more, Percy" Poppy answered while sported devious grins, "Little girls don't belong in our crew". Suddenly, in swift coordination, Poppy and the pirates charged Percy and grabbed him by his arms and legs. "Let's throw this little girl overboard!" Poppy cackled as the rest of the crew cheered in agreement. "Wait! Wait! Wait!" Percy squealed like a pig, "I think there maybe… a little bit of room for little girls". Satisfied, the crew dropped Percy and began laughing to themselves, and Janice couldn't help but join in.

Percy retreated to the main cabin as the pirates continued to laugh, before Poppy suddenly frowned and yelled "What're ye lot laughin' aboot? Get back to work!" In an awkward squabble, the pirates returned to their stations. Janice stood beside Percy as the pair began looking towards the horizon. "So it's settled then" Janice stated, beaming at the prospects at what is definitely a better life than she would ever have had before.

"It's a pirate's life for me".


	2. Chapter 2 - Getting under my Skin

**Getting Under Your Skin**

The beautifully glistening blue waves of the ocean under a starry night were soon soured and polluted as they were cut open. A vessel of a volatile nature journeyed through the waters, leaving only filth and putrescence in its wake. The Crackerjack, the bane of the seven seas and the pride of the infamous bandit Horace the Horrible, had been venturing cross the waves. After their humiliating defeat to the Laughingstock, they had sought to resupply, replenish their stock and plot their vengeance against their rivals.

The monstrous fiends that crewed this mangled excuse of a ship were working hard to manage the ship, heaving and towing as they unbound the secured sails. As the sails dropped and the winds were caught, the captain commanded "Heave to and securrre those rrropes, ye putrrrid wrrretches!" With a grunt and a series of grumbles, the crew doubled their efforts and finalised their tasks and the ship hastened as the wind became enslaved to the ship's whim. After a brief loss of balance for the entire crew by will of the ship's sudden burst of speed, the Captain turned away from the banister and sought to return to his cabin.

"Me first mate!" the captain then called as he pulled the doors open, "Ye'll be joining me in me cabin!" To this, a single crewmember raised her head and turned to face the overhead balcony in response to this command, "Aye, Cap'n". The First Mate, here actually being what could loosely be recognised as a woman, was no less vile and hideous as her associates. Her slimy skin was a pale and ghostly, her right eye had been crudely sewn shut with a fishing line and one arm was considerable longer than the other. She approached the captain's cabin and pulled the door open, stepping inside as the doors shut behind her.

The captain sat at a table with his arms folded, drumming his gloved fingers against the wooden surface. "Therrre were a girrrrl on that ship" Horace snarled, "A girrrl I be never seeing before". He huffed before continuing "All by herrr lonesome, she nearly blew me crew to kingdom come. She be a grrreater menace to me than all the crew o' the Laughingstock". He gave a short chuckle at his own words, before frowning once more and concluding "Who be this girrrl and wherrre be she coming frrrom?"

"I could not possible imagine, my captain. I'd never seen such sharpshootin' since me youth in the Sand Lands" the first mate replied, "Could she be in league with the Laughingstock?" Horace suddenly kicked his chair back and yelled "Who cares? Them fools be the least of our worries. They be no match for me awesome power!" With a short breathe to relax from this outburst, he then added "But this stranger could be capable of anything". "Ye think she could be a threat to us?" the cyclopean accomplice asked, to which Horace waved his hand in dismissal. "It will matterrr not. I alrrready have a plan to deal with that vicious little brrrat!" Horace cackled as he wandered to the window to gaze the horizon.

"And I be knowing the scallywag ferrr the task".

From this, the first mate offered a vaguely intimidated expression and stammered "Ye can't possibly mean that unholy beast!" "Enough Sunny!" Horace barked bemusedly, "He shall appreciate his rrreturrrn to Candle Cove…. And ourrr gift of flesh to him". "That creature will not ally himself to our cause. Only to his own" Sunny continued to criticise her captain's plot, only to once again be silenced by his stern glare through his monocle. Horace turned away from the window and approached a large chest in the corner of his cabin, pulling it open and finding an assortment of unnatural relics and compounds. "Prrreparrre the rrrest of the crrrew. We will begin the summoning rrritual verrry soon" Horace snarled, Sunny simply nodding before making her way out of the cabin and back onto the main deck. Horace smiled as he held a black candle in his grip, "The Skin Taker shall stalk this plain once morrre."

In her absence, the crew continued to toil on the many duties they set to accomplish. Impressed by their dedication, she called "All hands! There be a summoning ritual in the hour!" All crewmembers looked up at her and paid attention to her words. "Masters Philip and Hans! Assist the Captain! The rest of you, get back to work!" Sunny commanded. Two insidious figure ascended the stairs and joined the first mate. The first was a tall figure in a green coat with a pair of red beady eyes and a long, writhing trunk for a mouth, closer resembling a fly instead of a man. Following him was an even taller fiend in a hooded cloak to hide his face, sporting a pair of hooks in place of his hands.

"Be it who I think it is?" a ghostly whisper spilled forth from the skull like teeth of the hooded monster "Be it he who claims the fear of those he has slew?" "I pray it may be" Phillip Fly answered in an almost unintelligible sputter, "Our luck has been running out for too long, me friend". Phillip held his hand against his chest and pulled four leaf clover from his coat, examining it with his red eyes. "Perhaps our luck is finally on our side" he remarked before placing the trinket on his chest, "I can only hope he shall save me a souvenir". Hoody Hans simply chuckled as he clanged his hooks together threateningly, before the two villain entered the cabin to consult their captain.

Within moments, the crew had assembled a collection of trinkets and compounds, all aligned to encircle a small space. This summoning circle would draw upon the dark magic of these element and direct it towards the middle, where they would harness the power to summon this mysterious creature. Horace the Horrible stepped forward and held an open hand towards the circle, exposing a black substance to the air. The liquid fell from his fingers and fell to the floor, only to suddenly stop and hovered into the circle. Horace smiled as this was exactly what he wanted; a sign that he would have his revenge.

* * *

Elsewhere upon the writhing ocean waves of Candle Cove was the infamous crew aboard the Laughingstock. The sunlight has been preparing to creep over the horizon as the shining hue of sunshine bled into the night sky. Ever since their newest crewmember, the underage deckhand Janice, earned the crew a tremendous victory and a humiliating defeat to the Crackerjacks, the seas had remains quiet for several days. Perhaps this was a sign that their fates had turned for the best and that they would find solace on the ocean for at least a short time. If only fate were as kind.

Janice was busy assorting supplies and preparing them for transport into the bowels of the ship, which was greatly pleasing the ship herself. Janice approached the bow and leaned over the guard rail to address the vessel face-to-face, gazing upon the eyes and mouth shifting faintly as the ship ploughed through the waves.

"It's been a long time since there has been any sign of those baddies on the other ship" Janice explained, only having a vague memory of the villains they encountered. The ship gazed upwards and smiled "Indeed. It's not often those villains hide for so long" before grimacing when a thought came to mind. She sneered "Perhaps they are planning something big for the next time" and soon grew concerned as she saw the fearful look on Janice's face. "You will need to be brave my dear. Those villains may be cruel, but they also have friends… friends even more evil than Horace or his cretins could ever be" she explained.

Janice was about to walk away before she stopped in her tracks and returned to the bow, asking "Why do the Crackerjack's want to fight us anyway? What did you do?" The Laughingstock shut her eyes in deep thought, "We have shared a history with them and have been fighting for lots of reasons… but it's mostly because they want to steal our hard earned treasure". "Oh I see… Pirates don't like to share, do they?" Janice questioned. "No, I suppose not. But they also don't like stealin' another pirate's treasure" The laughing stock answered, "It's against the Pirate's code of honour".

Janice was about to speak but paused for a moment to consider what the Laughingstock had said. She asked "There's a pirate's code of honour? I always thought Pirates didn't follow rules". The laughingstock giggled and stated "They don't. The pirate's code of honour is more like words of caution" before sneering slightly, "Though caution never seems to enter Horace's thinkin'". "Sounds a bit complicated. How many of these codes are there?" Janice asked curiously. "Several. Poppy can give you the details" the Laughingstock answered with a reassuring smile, "But only later; you still have work to do".

Elsewhere aboard the ship, up in the crow's nest on the tallest mast, the captain of the ship was scanning the horizon for any trouble. Percy scanned his gaze over the ocean and upon the horizon that glistened in the sunlight. But as his gaze began to turn elsewhere, he was awed by a truly unexpected sight. It was something that he had not seen in all his life. It was something he had only ever heard in old ghost stories, and yet its meaning was all too familiar and all to terrifying for the cowardly bilge rat.

Wasting no time racing down the mast and landing clumsily on the main deck with a stumble, Percy began running u and down the deck screaming "All hands, Attention!" Heads rose in fright to meet the equally petrified gaze of their commander immediately stood erect to address him. With the entire crew paying attention, Percy announced "Men! There be dark magic a-brewing! For in place of a sunrise, a green flash has stirred to welcome the morning!"

"The green flash!?" A crewmember exclaimed, as the rest of the crew began to murmur amongst themselves and mull over the prospects of this terrible news. Janice stepped towards Percy and asked "Green flash? What's a green flash?" She looked around for Poppy in order to inquire about this mystery, but was disheartened when she finally was met with his concerned look. "This be terrible" Poppy muttered to himself, "Horace, ye poxy cur! What've ye done?!"

"Poppy, what's wrong" Janice asked nervously as she hugged his leg, hiding beneath his long coat for shelter. "The green flash is the work o' powerful dark magic, Janice" Poppy answered with a fearful huff, "It means that an evil soul has returned from the land of the dead to walk amongst the livin'". "An evil soul? Who?" Janice questioned further. Poppy pursed his lips and answered "I don't know… But I be as sure as the night that this be Horace's doin'". He clenched his fist as his fear was replaced with seething rage, "And if I know Horace… then the soul he's returned must be…"

"The Skin Taker!" an already terrified crew began panicking and Janice found herself lost in a squabbling mass of hysterical deckhands. Percy was among them as he began rambling under his breath to contemplate his surrender strategy for the impending doom. Janice approached him and asked "Percy, who is the Skin Taker?" Little more than a girly shriek of freight responded to this question as Percy suddenly fainted to the floor with an intelligent tumble. Witnessing this, Poppy rolled his eyes and pulls Janice to his side.

"All hands! Attention! Address ye first mate!" Poppy roared as the crew slowed their actions to a stop and all eyes focused upon him. These included Percy's, as the foolish coward had begun recovering from his state. "We must not panic! There's yet to be any sign of Horace or this evil soul! So none of ye make any premature assumption and go about stirring up terror upon this ship! Understand!" As the crew saluted in acknowledgement, Janice asked with a fervent call "What is the Skin Taker anyway?"

Percy howls "He's been here before and he'll be back again" before he started pacing across the deck, "Oh, this is Horace's doin', I swear it on me mother's own grave!" Poppy, left disgruntled by Percy's pathetic display, then commanded "Be it Skin Taker, we must protect Janice at all costs!" Having drawn her attention, Janice then asked "What? Why am I in danger? Is this evil dead man here to get me?" Poppy held her close and growled "He'd die a'fore I let that wicked no-gooder lay one finger on ye, lassie".

One crewmember, unlike then rest of the uneasy crew, was simply sitting idly on the side of the deck. Janice had noticed him on occasion and never had a close look at him thanks to the man's avoidant nature. Had she a proper look at the man, she would have realised that his whole face and body was a complete jungle of brown hair and a pair of long, floppy ears. He was not a man at all, but a dog. A Sea Dog.

Sea Dog stood up and yelled "Hold it a minute there, you band of superstitious pansies!" All the crew turned to face him as he explained "The skin taker be little more than an old spook story for young'ns to behave theirselves". With a sneer, he continued "None of you lot have ever seen that fiends and have only ever heard of him in stories. And that's all, it is, you children!"

"Are ye a complete fool, Sea Dog?!" Percy screamed in disbelief, "The Skin taker be a real thing!" he continued as the rest of the crew nodded and murmured in agreement. Outnumbered, Sea Dog was forced to stand down and withdraw his forth-put claims. He turned away and called to the souls behind him. "I warn ye lot, ye be chasing an old wives' tale" he snarled, "And I should be knowing. I be chasing tales since me youth". With that, he skulked his way back below deck to attend his other, more important duties.

* * *

A few days had passed since that day and the crew were beginning to run low on supplies following their travels. They had passed by the Treasure Islands and were currently off the coat of a small Island. From she had been told by Poppy and Percy, the Island was known as Little Bedford, though it seemed to have little history. Apparently, it's rarely visited for any purpose other than supplies, notably a fresh spring located in a cave along the coast.

By the next Monday morning, a crewmember leaned from the crows next, howling to the crew below with an enthusiastic "Land, ahoy!" The main deck was abundant with lively soles toiling away in preparation to land, raising the sails and determining the appropriate landing zone. Poppy and Janice stood together as the valiant blackguard drew his telescope and scanned the shoreline. After a few moments, his eye landed on a black void protruding from a gathering of hillside trees, before closing his scope and pocketing it.

"Who's gonna collect the supplies?" Janice asked as Poppy descended to the main deck, carefully avoiding the bustling deckhands as they prepared for landing. "Well, we be needin' to remain on shore for at least 6 hours. We have had previous volunteers to go ashure, and they will be directed by me" Poppy explained. He turned to a group of pirates preparing to drop a life-boat, namely a black haired teenager.

Janice had heard the conversation and walked to the bow of the ship, and Miss Laughingstock immediately looked up to greet her. "I know what you want to ask" she said, "The supplies are in a dangerous cave". Janice looked out to see the island and said "Is there nowhere else to get supplied on this island". "You have to go inside" Miss Laughingstock concluded as Janice went back to the main deck. Her mind was made up. If she wanted to be a proper pirate, she would need to face any dangers she might come across with a stiff upper lip.

"Can I join you?" Janice asked excitedly, "I've never been to an island before!" Poppy paused and looked behind him, meeting her gleeful eyes with a disheartening gaze. "I'm no' sure. It may be too dangerous. We can't be sure if anyone else may already be on the island" Poppy explained. As he was about to turn away, Janice surprised him when she said "You think the Skin Taker might be there, don't you?"

"Oh not this again!" a disgruntled Sea Dog snarled as he swabbed the deck with his rickety wooden mop. He paused to look at Poppy and Janice before continuing "Are we going to starve to death at sea because an old fairy tale scared us from any land? Tell me now". "Enough o' that, Sea Dog. Get back to work" Poppy ordered sternly, earning merely a shrug from the surly janitor who answered "Nevermind. Either way, I delight in that I remain here whilst all yer superstition is taken to the island with you".

As Sea Dog returned to his duties, Poppy held Janice by her shoulder to get her attention. He stated "All the same, I think the island may hold dangers you are not prepared for. Perhaps you should remain on the ship with Sea Dog and the others". Janice, with a raised eyebrow in scepticism, answered "I have done lots of things that I never thought I would do, and I have fixed problems that I was never ready for. How can this be any different?" Janice then shrugged and added "And besides, I ain't got no problem with this 'Skin Taker' person". Despite her refusal to cooperate, Poppy couldn't help but admire this girl's bravery and finally succumbed.

The crew rowed to the beach and eventually landed, a few hands pulling the boat further up along the sand to escape the rising tide. They ventured to the entrance of the cave and drew torches, setting them alight as they entered. Cautiously, they drew their weapons in preparation for any potential danger they may meet. Poppy lad the way with a lantern raised until they eventually came to a large space, a series of tunnels splitting in different directions.

Poppy took out his map and read the direction to go, before pointing at a specific tunnel and calling "This way, men". The crew followed him into the tunnel while Janice followed along behind them, having a lantern to herself. However, as she started following them, she heard a series of strange noises, resembling a bundle of sticks clattering together in a rapid faction. This sound was coming from multiple directions, as if it was moving fairly quickly throughout the tunnel system.

"Come now, Come now, one and all" she heard a voice sing delightedly, "It's time to gather round". Janice listened closely to the lyrics as the song continued. "Hush now, hush now, don't ye cry" it continued before a lengthy and unsettling pause, "Don't scream or make a sound". Curious and scared at the same time, she turned to the rest of the crew and called "There's so-"

They weren't there.

Nothing but a stone wall and a maze of tunnels greeted her as she sought her companions. She shone her light around frantically at the many tunnels, desperately trying to remember which one her friends went into. The light from Poppy's torch had long since disappeared into the winding cavers. Janice's body stiffened and her breaths became hoarse from anxiety. The clattering sound returned, drawing her attention to the darkness behind her. Her lantern finally caught a strange sight in its lights as a strange and ill-fitting figure emerged from the background.

It was slender, but its pallor was a distinctive white, as pale as a bone. It was seated in an awkward position upon one of the upper ledges of the cave's many stone surfaces. She slowly approached it, with a lantern in one hand and a dagger in the other in preparation. As the light illuminated the cave around her, the figure was slowly revealed; and the sight that befell Janice rocked her to her core.

It was a corpse; the skeletal remains of some poor soul. It was sitting limply with its mouth hanging open, it hands and feet resting limply and bent to awkward angles. He had worn little at the time of its death, clad only in a blackened cloak with tatters and a crude top hat stitched with an odd material, neither cloth nor leather. Despite this ominous appearance, Janice relaxed as she saw she was in no true danger.

But as she put her dagger away, she noticed something strange about the skeleton. Its jaw was moving back and forth, or more rather, from side to side. It was wobbling at odd angles all on its own, peaking Janice's curiosity once again. "Why does its jaw move like that?" she asked herself, intrigued in its loosest form taking control of her better judgement. She turned away from the skeleton to try and find her friends again, returning to the immediate problem.

There was a crack behind her, startling her and drawing her attention back to the skeleton. As soon as she saw the skeleton again, she gasped in fright. It had turned its head and looked directly at her, its neck cracking as it did so. The lantern's light shone upon its face and Janice could see a pair of eyes lurking inside the hollow sockets, piercing her soul as they gazed upon her. Its jaw opened slowly and swung back and forth.

"To grind your skin."

The skeleton leaped up and tackled Janice to the ground, gripping her wrists within its skeletal grasp. Janice was about to screamed before she fell to the ground and lost her breath upon hitting the rock beneath her. She struggled in a panic as she tried as hard as she could to get away, but the skeleton had an unnatural strength to keep her at bay. The skeleton looked down upon her and snickered sadistically.

"You're the Skin Taker, aren't you" Janice squirmed nervously. Skin taker nodded slowly as it replied "I am", before releasing the girl's hand and reaching inside its coat to find something. Its hand slowly withdrew from the cloak, clutching a large Straitrazor with a dried red substance along its edge. It snickered once again as it concluded "And you will make a lovely addition" before gesturing to its coat. Janice looked towards the section he pointed at and noticed something she never did before, and wished she hadn't.

Stitched within the coat, was a child's face.

But just as Skin Taker was making his preparations, he heard a loud call from the darkness as a light bloomed within one of the many caves. The fiend stood up and pulled Janice up with her, cupping her tear-stained face to prevent any escape. "Janice!" a familiar voice called as the band of pirates rushed in and spread out. Poppy, infuriated, yelled "Skin Taker! Don't ye dare hurt that girl! Ye be answerin' to me, ye cruel monster!"

"Stop me if ye dare!" Skin Taker spat back as he took Janice's lantern and tossed to the wall, breaking it and putting the light out to shroud the pair of them in darkness. The pirates nervously staggered around, but Poppy was not as afraid as he ran into the darkness with his torch. He swung his fire around madly and finally caught a comforting glimpse of Janice, who was no longer held hostage and ran to his arms. Crying in fear, Janice hid beneath Poppy's coat as he pointed his sword around in search of a skeleton to skewer.

"Aaargh! Hurk! Glrk!" The pirates heard as one of the pirates collapsed to the ground in a pool of blood, gripping both his slit throat and his slashed stomach. The pirates began to panic before Poppy yelled "All 'ands! Out of the cave! Hurry!" sounding the most fearful that Janice and the other pirates had ever seen. Making no secret of their desperation, all the pirates sprinted in a panic to reach the entrance.

As a pirate ran alongside his colleagues, one to his left was suddenly pulled by his collar and dragged back from whence they came, screaming as he was brutally murdered by the ruthless terror. As the light of the outside world shone to greet them and backing their efforts, several more pirates had been caught be the unnatural speed of the skeleton and dragged screaming to their excruciating doom. Finally, as the remaining survivor's reached the beach, they all stopped and caught their breath, all far to taxed to handle any more hysteria and madness their day has wrought.

Poppy hugged Janice and held her close, both crying tears of you and terror. Poppy and Janice both looked back to the entrance of the cave and saw a fiendish skeleton, coated in blood and twitching with excitement. With more than enough skin for his collection, Skin Taker simply disappeared into the darkness of the cave as a loud cackle echoed from within.

"I'll rip now, rip now, tear your skin, and feat upon your bones!" Skin Taker sang from within the depths of the cavern, "I'll sew my cape with you within, so you won't be alone". The song echoed over the beach and Janice covered her ears as the song echoed over and over in her head. Poppy held Janice to his side and sighed. "We'll get that villain yet, lassie" Poppy comforted, "This ain't over".

The pirates, Janice and Poppy included, were silent for the rest of the trip back to the ship. Once they finally arrived, the boarded and were met with the horrified crew. "Poppy! What Happened?! Why is there blood on ye!?" Percy asked in shock. Janice boarded hanging her head and shanking in pure fear. "Skin Taker… That be what happened…" Poppy huffed miserably before taking a bucket of water to wash his blood off.

The rest of the day was thankfully less exciting. Half of the supplies taken from the cave were lost in the attack, but there was now less members of the crew that would need it. Janice was curled up in the corner of the main deck and Sea Dog spotted her as he was mopping. He walked over and stuttered "I… I'm so sorry… I swear, I am". Janice turned to looked as his with tears in her eyes.

"His coat… His Hat… They couldn't have been children… could they?"


	3. Chapter 3 - Ship Crash into Amantis

**Ship Crash into Amantis**

Words were few aboard the Laughingstock as it rose and fell at the whim of the ocean waves. The crew had suffered a devastating loss since their encounter with a new horror that sought to haunt them all; the heinous Skin Taker. Few had ever been witness to the cruel deeds and the raw power of this demon, and even fewer had ever spoken of them out of sheer fear. The Laughingstock, or what few of them remained, had been amongst the few survivors of the Skin Taker's wrath; and yet, they could not decide whether to consider themselves lucky or not.

They felt it best to lie low for several days and to seek supplies elsewhere, away from the Island of Little Bedford where the skeletal sadist has made his home. Poppy and Percy had been equally fearful of their situation, one of the few times they ever had been. But above all others, the one with the most right to fear was poor young Janice, who could no longer see the world as the place she once did.

Janice was currently sitting aloft along a wooden arm of the mast, simply staring quietly out into the stormy skies and occasionally spotting a bolt of lightning in the distance, as she had done for several hours without pause. None had the time to show concern for her, as the winds were steadily picking up and the skies continued to darken. A cold chill began to torment Janice, though she did naught to escape and simply steeled herself against it. As the storm worsened, Poppy grew evermore worried about the approaching storm.

"I reckon these ain't be natural rains a 'coming" Percy suggested, whilst Poppy rested upon his arms and looked out a window of the captain's cabin. "Ye suppose this weather be the work of Malguins?" Poppy questioned, though Percy simply shrugged with pursed lips. "I can't be sure, but I ain't be taking that risk. We be getting the crew below deck and hunkering down until the storm blows over" the captain suggested. With no rebuttal, Poppy nodded in agreement and followed him out onto the main deck.

As they headed out, Percy and Poppy could already feel droplets of rain landing against their coats, knowing that the Malguins' rain may already have begun taking effect. "All hands to the cargo hold!" Percy commanded, to which all the crew took heed of his instructions and headed below deck. With their job done, they themselves headed below the main deck to join them. From here, they should be safe from enemy pirates with this unnatural fog and safe from the rain thanks to the immaculate integrity of the ship herself.

But despite what they had thought, not everyone had followed the captain's command, as one poor soul had remained aloft and exposed to the storm. Janice had yet to move from her spot and continued to stare into the horizon. Tears had fallen from her eyes for hours and were now lost amongst the rainwater spilling from her hair. There was no effort to dry herself, no acknowledgement of the outside world and no sense in combatting what cannot be defeated.

If only she had any wits left to noticed the approaching shadow to the stern of the ship, rapidly approaching and flying no colours to speak of. The captain had spotted the docile ship rocking haphazardly in the waves, before cackled to himself and collapsing his spyglass. "They be hunkerrring down ferrrr the storrrm!" Horace declared with a smug grin, "If the Malguins don't be getting them, then we will!"

He ran to the banister and yelled to the crew along the main deck "All hands! Get below deck and man the cannons, ye festerrrring maggots!" With a grunt and a grumble, the crew stomped, slithered and scuttled to their positions, their cannons set for action. Horace listened as the hatches we listed and the clinking sound of the cannons being aimed filled the air. He couldn't help but chuckle with delight as the moment he had yearned for was only moments away.

The storm grew worse, not that the crew aboard the Crackerjack seemed to mind and had no heed of the storm's nature. Janice was being tugged and dragged in several directions by the abominable wind and her gaze began to descend to the water below. Water ran off of her shin and seeped into her clothes, all while her tears had finally stopped flowing. She looked into the writing waves and found herself mesmerised, watching as they collided with eachother with the strength topple even the strongest of swimmers. As these thoughts began to fill her mind, they just as quickly began to fade away until only a single word was left.

End… End… End… End… End… End… End… End… End… End… End… End… End… End… End… End… End… End… End… End… End… End… End… End… End… End… End… End… End… End… End… End…

She stood up from her perch and began walking calmly along the sail, no matter the ship's efforts to toss her off. She stopped at the edge of the mast and looked straight down, once again contemplating the waves beneath her. All she could think about was the terrible things that had filled her life, and refused to cease in spite of her attempts to escape. Were it her family back home, or the villains that hound her in this god-forsaken place, she knew that she could not escape her own torment or her tortured life.

And a tortured life is a life not worth living.

She jumped. The water camp up fast until she suddenly landed hard against the surface, writhing is shock and pain as she was immediately dragged under. Even if she made any effort to do so, she hadn't the strength to claw her way through the shapeless sea and reach the surface for its precious air. As she slowly began to sink far below the waves, she couldn't help but consider the irony of her plight, she similarly faced a tragic fate before she was rescued by the Laughingstock. How worthless her rescue had been and how meaningless her escape to paradise had become. There was nowhere else left to go now except down; such was all she could think about as darkness claimed her mind and sights.

Oblivious to such things was the crew of the Laughingstock, who were currently drowning their sorrows in grog. "Some say he's a serpent that came straight from hell! To eat the souls of pirates and other ner-do-wells" the crew sang together whilst others were already either passed out drunk or sitting away minding their own business. Among these were Percy, who had not touched a drop of grog and clung to his paranoia, and Poppy was off drinking by himself.

"Come on Poppy, join the song!" Sea Dog called from the group as they continued "Some they don't believe it. As for me I've got a huuuuuuuunch!" Poppy sighed with a small smile and goot up from his chair, wandering with a slight stagger towards the rest of the crew. "Cause they used to have some pirates here… but he ate them all for lunch!" They roared before they all burst out laughing. But as he made his way over, Poppy stopped in his tracks and his eyes widened, "Where be Janice!"

"FIRE!" Horace howled at the top of his lungs, as a rings of explosions followed his command. One by one, the cannons unloaded towards the yonder ship, smoke and soot sprinkling the ocean surrounding the gritty vessel. All around them, cannonballs had blasted their way through the frame of the ship and cause chaos amidst the crew. As numerous holes began to spread along the ships port, the Laughingstock herself had begun wailing in pain and panic.

"It be the Crackerjack!" Percy screamed at the top of his lungs as he scrambled abou the floor. At this time, Poppy would've shoved Percy to the side and taken charge, demanding a retaliation or planning an escape for him and his crew. But not this time. Poppy was at a complete loss, as all possible chances they had of escaping this doom had been snuffed out by another threat. Between the rain and the evil pirate attack, there was nothing Poppy could do for his crew. Hanging his head in dismay as the ship began to crumble around him, water started flowing up and around his legs. The Laughingstock was sinking fast, and there was nothing that could be done to save her, nor its crew.

As the Laughingstock was left to bob hopelessly in the maw of the gluttonous ocean, Horace overlooked his handiwork. From behind him, the doors opened and drew his attention to the approaching figure. "At last, me masterrrr. We got them!" Horace cheered before running off to his crew. Skin Taker stared at the wreckage with his beady eyes, before gripping his hat and tossing it into the air in celebration. "Begone! Once and for all" he called before swinging his cape through the air and skulking back into the captain's cabin.

* * *

Nobody knew of Janice's fate or here current whereabouts, a fact that Janice herself would willing accept and encourage. Had her intentions succeeded, she would've sunk to the bottom of the ocean and disappeared off the face of the earth, no longer remembered and never mourned. But instead, Janice would open her eyes once again as her straining eyes tried desperately to focus on the figure before her. She was being held in the arms of some unknown figure, though she could still feel the cold of the ocean water against her skin. Would nothing bring her miserable life to an end?

Not if her saviour had anything to say about it.

"Can you hear me" a soft and soothing voice whispered through the rippling water into the depths of her soul. Janice could only groan in response, though the figure didn't seem to mind. "Do not exert yourself, my dear. You have yet to be safe" the figure explained as Janice felt the pace of her carrier quicken. "Where…" Janice began before falling silent once more from pure exhaustion. "We are almost there. Please rest" the unknown person concluded before eventually stopping, Janice feeling herself lowered onto a soft platform.

Janice slowly opened her eyes and tried her best to look around, her vision blurred by the sea water before eventually focusing on a figure in front of her. She could see what closely resembled a person but her skin was a noticeable hue of green. This was only made more noticeable be how much of her skin was exposed for her to see, as this woman wore on the barest minimum to cover her form. What barely resembled a breastplate with a codpiece were donned by the girl's saviour, whilst various chains enwrapped her arms and legs.

"Who are you?" Janice asked with a raspy huff, trying her best to shift her body away from this strange and concerning woman. "Don't be scared of me, little one" the woman replied, evidently disheartened by the girl's obvious wary behaviour. "My name is Susan. Susan the Siren" she introduced as she folded one leg over the other from where she sat, "I found you drowning in the water and saved you". Janice shifted and sat up straight, looking down to find herself laying on a bed of interwoven kelp.

"Where am I?" Janice than asked curiously as she stretched her aching muscles, Susan placing a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder. "You are in my den, in the underwater land of Amantis" Susan explained, "In this land, Merpeople make their home". "Merpeople? As in, fish tails for legs?" Janice asked with a sudden intrigue. "That's right! How do you know? Have you encountered them before?" Janice shook her head and answered "No. But I've heard stories about them from my home… wait… 'Encountered'? Are they not friendly?"

Susan frowned slightly as the colour in her eye began to fade from clear disappointment. "Not to humans… humans and Merpeople have been fighting for years over control of the seven seas. It would take much for Merpeople to trust humans… especially a pirate". Janice soon understood the gravity of her situation, and how she may be in danger so long as she remains in this icy cold ocean. "Well then I need to get out of here" Janice exclaimed as she rose from the bed and floated clumsily through the water.

"That is a problem, my dear…" Susan said solemnly, turning to look through a distant gap in her abode. Janice swam to the window before gripping in to remain still, before peering through the gap and examining her surroundings. Her pained eyes widened as she looked over the lay of the land. There were various stones stacked into the shape of elegant yet crude homes, possibly to the inhabitants of Amantis. There were what seemed to be gardens of anemones, glowing with bright and beautiful colours that dazzled in the darkness of the ocean.

"I myself am not… respected by the Merpeople" Susan explained, her hands slowly stroking her legs with a pained sigh. "It is against the law for merpeople to fall in love with humans" she continued as she floated to the window and stopped beside Janice. "But you're not a mermaid. You're a siren" Janice stated with a confused expression, "How come you have to follow that law if you are not one of the people?" Susan rubbed her hands over her scantily clad body and grimaced, as if recalling a pained memories; "That's not what I meant".

As the both looked out the window, Janice spotted a pair of merpeople swimming by and considered their unexpectedly fearsome appearances. These creatures were leans and underweight, closer resembling ghouls than humans with their lack of muscle. "Merpeople make enemies out of everyone. Before they turned their heads and had the chance to see the young child, Susan pulled her down and hid her behind the rock wall, exclaiming "If they see you, they will eat you alive". Susan swam away and rubbed her chin thoughtfully, "I'm gonna try and sneak you out of this terrible place. I'll get you to the surface".

* * *

Merpeople had grown less abundant along the streets of Amantis towards noon, the perfect opportunity for Susan and Janice to leave their home and sneak out of the city. When the coast was clear, Susan peaked from a corner towards the edge of the city. She held Janice by the hands as they ascended to the surface of the ocean, whispering to Janice "Remember. We are gonna be out in the open for a bit. Keep your legs together to avoid suspicion". Doing as she was told, she stiffened her legs to disguise them as a fish tail.

Kicking her way clumsily and slowly approaching the surface, Susan looked back to find a terrifying sight, as several merpeople were following her. They would most likely wish to question her reason floor approaching the surface, only to kill her and Janice once they were close enough to recognise the both of them. She hastened herself and her partner but tried to feign ignorance of her pursuers, for whatever it may be worth. The glimmer of light was in their sight, fresh ocean air was in their reach, freedom was in Janice' grasp.

Janice broke the surface and drew a sharp breath, Susan following after her and whipping her hair out of her face. As the sea water was wiped from her eyes, Susan hastily looked about for any land for Janice to find salvation. Eventually, through the sporadic waves, she spotted the sight of a ship, and along with it a sandy island upon which it rested. Janice spotted and screamed with delight "The Laughingstock! That's my ship! I need to get to i-".

Within an instant, Janice found herself pulled under by a sudden grip around her legs. Holding her breath in a panic, all her breath was released as she screamed in the face of her attacker, a vicious purple merman. She struggled against his grip and glanced over to Susan, who was beset upon by several ravenous merpeople who had easily overpowered her. Darkness was clouding the poor girl's vision, and she felt a sudden and disturbing sense of déjà vu.

But as she was about to be claimed by the clod embrace of oblivion, her attacker had suddenly loosen his grip on her neck. A she opened her eyes, her vision was obscured by an odd red colour, before she felt herself pulled above the water. Her back collided with a wooden surface and she wiped the sea water from her eyes. As soon as she looked up, she was shocked to find a familiar face.

"Janice! Good lord, we thought you'd kicked the bucket during that thunderstorm" the Cannoneer exclaimed as he rowed the both of them back to the shore of the island. Too disoriented to speak, Janice merely listened as thee Cannoneer continued "Our ship wrecked and we only barely managed to wash ashore on this island". The Cannoneer looked behind him and continued "And the sooner we can find a way to fix her and shove off again, the better".

In that short moment he turned to face her, Janice looked upon his face and stared curiously at him. His brown hair, his red bandana, there was something familiar about this boy. "Nathan?" Janice muttered groggily. Nathan suddenly stopped rowing and started laughing out loud, "Good to see you again, Janice". Janice leaned up and held her temple, her mind swimming in pain. "How did you end up here in candle cove?" Janice asked curiously.

"Probably the same way you did… and also possibly for the same reason" Nathan wavered for a moment, "Got tired of all the problems at home, ran away to find a better life and then came here". Nathan reached for a cloak over in the corner of the rowboat and swung it through the air, wrapping it around Janice and encasing her in its warm and dry embrace. As he started rowing, Nathan found himself wrapped in a dripping wet hug. Janice said "I'm happy to see you, Nathan. You were only of the only people who were nice to me", Nathan simply blushing in response.

As the pair rowed back to the ship to help in solving its current problem, Janice had almost completely neglected their previous predicament and all those who were involved in it. It was only when she looked back towards the reddened body of water that she began to wonder what happened to her rescuer Susan. As she was being rowed further from the floating corpses as they drifted away in the current, she could no longer tell how many there are or what they look like. After a time, she turned away and decided mere hope would be preferable to the cruel truth.

She did not want to know if one of the corpses had a pair of legs.

As the pair rowed their way across the reef, the crew of the ship were scouting the beach while Percy and Poppy examined the damage to the ship. "We're not gonna 'ave enough wood to patch the holes" Poppy stated half-heartedly, his mind elsewhere in light of this grim situation. Percy huffed, knowing what he was thinking about, and exclaimed "It ain't worth thinking about the girl. She'd been dead the moment she got on the ship. She be long gone; and the sooner we accept that, the sooner things be getting back to normal!"

"When have things ever been normal for us?"

Both men turned around to know who was addressing them, and both were left totally amazed.

Nathan was trudging up the beach, and a familiar face was in tow, despite most of her face being coiled by her cloak like a python. "Janice!" Poppy shouted in astonishment, Janice immediately dropping her cloak at the sight of the red bearded buccaneer and running to embrace him. "Good lord! I had thought ye were lost to the tides!" he huffed with relief as she clung to his coat. Percy, bemused by her return yet generally indifferent, simply wandered away to tend to other affairs. As she pulled away, she Janice looked at the ship and towards the island.

"Where are we?"


	4. Chapter 4 - Escape from Banana Island

**Escape from Banana Island**

The crew were stranded on an unknown island following a near fatal attack from the crackerjack, their ship wrecked and their provisions low. The pirates were scouting the lands while the captain and his colleagues concocted their plan. They stood at the bow of the Laughingstock as the ship herself listened intently to them.

"We had best continue in-land and see if there be any viable wood to fix the ship" Poppy suggested, "And perhaps we may find fresh water and food to resupply our stock". Percy nodded but then intervened "We should be careful, now. We don't know what else be living on this island, so we should just get the wood and then get going". "I guess" Poppy shrugged dismissively, "I be already havin' the crew armed before they left to explore the island". "We will bring the rest of the crew with us once they find something and we will all head in-land" Percy concluded, with Poppy nodding in acknowledgement.

"But what about the ship?" Janice piped up, all eyes turning to her with mixed looks. Poppy's of intrigue and Percy's of irritation. "Do we just leave her on the shore on her own?" Janice specified, but was interrupted when Percy stomped towards her indignantly. "Excuse me, but ye don't be the captain o' this ship, ye young brat!" he sneered in the most intimidating tone he could muster, but he was interrupted when the Laughingstock herself intervened. "It is quite alright, my dear" she said to the young girl, though advertently addressing all present.

It was soon settled and the remaining crew were setting up to explore the island once the scouts had returned with information. Janice was sitting atop the bow of the ship and spent her time talking to it while she waited. The conversation started with Janice's question; a question that she had wanted to ask ever since reuniting with the crew. "Are you in pain? Does it hurt?" she asked curiously, but suddenly feared that her question may be intrusive or impersonal. However, she was relieved to find a reassuring smile curling on the ship's enormous mouth.

"It does not. Ships don't feel pain" she explained calmly, though her smile disappeared just as quickly as it emerged. "But it does certainly feel peculiar to me, to be missing a lot of my frame" she explained as a teacher would explain to a pupil. "When I am missing parts of me, I tend to have an almost… emptiness inside me" Ms. Laughingstock described, "but it is rather more complex than I have made it sound". Whilst they continued to talk, Poppy and Percy kept a weather eyes on the jungles ahead of them in readiness for the scouts' return.

Eventually, they heard footsteps approach them and stared intensely in direction. From the bushed sprang several of their crew, running to them before stopping to catch their breath. Janice saw them and hurried over the side of the ship, clambering down a rope and dropping into the sand below to join them. "Well then, what have ye got for us?" Poppy inquired, pausing briefly before looking past them and towards the jungle, "And where are the rest of the scouts?" The first scout caught his breath and addressed his masters "Cap'n. Poppy. We split up into two parties and hadn't seen them when we were coming back like we meant to".

Percy pinched his nose while Poppy huffed in disappointment, the latter reassuring "Well, they should be back either way. The island's only small". Poppy stroked his beard in deep thought, before asking "What about supplies. Anything on this island we could use to repair the ship". "It's all just pine trees on this land, and banana trees too" the scout explained, only further annoying Poppy. "Pine wood ain't be any good for us. We're gonna need to look again" he groaned. "But there is one other thing about this island" the scout added, "The bananas… some of them are… giant".

Just as they were about to continue discussions, Poppy and Percy paused and turned to face the scout with widened eyes and mouths agape. "How big, lad. Big as a person?" Poppy inquired, though one could assume he wished to be wrong. The scout, following a pause and a curious glance, answered "Well, yes actually". There was a lingering silence between all of them, but Poppy soon stated, "Then there can be no doubt. This island be no' safe, and we truly do need to leave as soon as possible".

All the remaining crew armed themselves and they began their venture into the wilderness, making sure to stay in sight of the rest of the group as they did. Cutting their way through vegetation and carving pathways, Janice followed behind Poppy as he led the way. Poppy glanced down at her and muttered "Keep an eye out. If you see any enormous bananas in the trees or on the ground, tell me". Janice looked up and asked "Why? For food?" Poppy shook his head with a frown, "Nah. Those bananas be dangerous… they will try to kill us if we're not on our guard".

Somewhere nearby was the sudden sound of a stick breaking, alerting Janice and Poppy as they turned to the sound. After a short silence, Poppy sighed with relief and the pair continued. Poppy continued "Those be not bananas… they be banana people" as he cut an overhead pine branch, "horrid monsters that prey on this land". Janice furrowed her brow in confusion and said "Banana people. They don't sound very dangerous". "Don't be fooled" Poppy encouraged, "They wear enormous banana skins for clothes and even cocoons for sleepin'. But beneath, they are horrific creatures straight out o' a nightmare". Janice, cautious by valorous, nodded and followed close, her gaze shifting around her almost dutifully in search of danger.

As they continued, Poppy soon spotted a clearing ahead and directed the rest of the crew towards it. With a few more sword slashes and felled plant-life, they finally reached the opening in the thick wild and found a curious sight. They had reached a region clear of trees and sporting a wide open space, with several complex structures in their midst. Makeshift cavers, fireplaces and hoards were in sight, and Poppy hesitantly stepped way as he examined this area. "This be an encampment. We had be'er leave now". Poppy turned around to lead the party away from this place and back into the wilderness, but paused in shock.

From the out of the shadows and from behind trees, tall figures loomed in and surrounded the pirates, stepping into view with hostile stances. It was as Poppy had described; creatures with brown legs wearing large, rotted banana skins other themselves. In their blind panic, the crew drew weapon and prepared for battle, but hadn't the speed to strike before the banana people descended upon them. From beneath their skins, unnatural tendrils twisted and ensnared the pirates. They were disarmed, incapacitated and rendered helpless in a matter of moments.

Through the paves path into their camp, the banana people dragged the pirates to the centre of a clearing. Bruised, blistered and without strength, the crew were all bound by their arms and legs with rope, before they were cast together in a pile. The banana people, twitching with anticipation, closed in around them as they gurgled and growled viciously. Janice struggled as much as she could with her drained strength and short breath, but soon succumb to fatigue as the rest of the crew did. It could've been evil pirates or a terrifying skeleton, but is was instead to be bananas. Of course.

"Halt!"

All eyes, banana and pirate alike, looked to the sound and found a tall figure standing above them upon a stone platform. It was a human, but not one any of the crew had seen before. He was an elderly man with a short white beard. He was undoubtedly a pirate considering his wear; an eye patch, a Bicorne hat and a worn coat. He was wielding some kind of staff that sported wooden carving of bananas upon them. Janice saw this and wondered what this man's affiliation with the banana people was.

As the man raised his staff in the air, the banana people stepped away and started kneeling, their heads bowed. "That explains it. This is their leader" Janice thought to herself. The leader jumped down and yelled "So then! You were washed up on this island, weren't you!?" before cackling madly. He smiled deviously as he looked over the trespassers and snickered "Well it be great that ye came. We were just running low on food supplies". He turned to look at nothing in the distance, concluding "Hell, we only had an old geezer left. Very lucky indeed".

The banana people all stood and circled the pirates, but one of them spotted something peculiar. Poppy, in secret, had drawn a knife and was cutting his rope. Wasting no time, the creature's tendril's sot out and seized the blade, holding it up to its king. "What?!" the king screamed in unbridled distress, "You fools didn't even search them for weapons!? Search them and then take them to the cages!" The banana people clambered upon the pirate and began molesting them for hidden tools, "Search every hole in their body, every fold, every crack!" One of the banana people grabbed Janice and pulled her to her feet, only for the Banana King to yell "Stop!" Both Janice and her captor to him as he pointed directly at her, an insidious grin growing on his features as he slurred sleazily "Leave her to me… I'm sure many things… overburden her".

* * *

Hours later, the crew were stowed away in makeshift cages, all fashioned from the trunks of pine trees with gates tied closed with rope binds. The crew were all unbound and left to roam their small prisons, all either sitting in thought to come up with a plan or simply trying to force the door open in some way. Janice and Poppy shared the same cage, and both had chosen the former option. "Oh fer Pete's sake, ye lot are never gonna get oot like that" Poppy snarled in irritation at the other crewmembers, before slumping back against the bars of the cage.

"And trust me, mon. I know"

Poppy opened his eyes and glanced around, before setting them upon on of the other cages and its occupant. It was yet another man they had not seen before, likely the last food source that the Banana King had mention. It was an elderly Jamaican man with a long white beard, and several golden teeth jutting passed his lips. "How ya doin' mon?" he greeted in his thick accent, "Ye be here in time for dinner". "And who are you?" Janice asked as she climbed the bars of her cell, the Jamaican man standing up and turning to look at her.

"Me name be Joe, girl. But most called me Salty Jojo" he replied, "I was a carpenter for my crew before I got marooned here". "Which crew was that?" Janice asked curiously, but Jojo simply shrugged. "I don't know. I was a slave on their ship. The rest of the slaved died and they just decided to lighten the load" he explained, "I only wish that they had been caught by the banana people before they'd left".

Poppy grunted and folded his arms, "Who is this Banana King, anyway? He's clearly a pirate, so how does he command those monsters?" Jojo snickered and answered "It be his staff, mon. It has put them things under a spell. As long as he got it, they not hurt him". He paced around his cell and continued "I not know him, but he was with his last crew when they came here. He ate all of them when he got the staff". He then stopped and finished, "But de staff has cursed him. If he leaves the island, he dies". "How do you know all this?" Nathan asked, Jojo answering "He told me because he not think I ever live to tell".

Janice then asked "Do you know a way out of here?" Jojo looked at her again, before he started shifting his gaze around the environment for any unwanted attention. "The truth is, I could've escaped this cage any time now" he explained, all eyes and ears turning to pay his words mind. "What do you mean?" Poppy exclaimed in surprise, Salty Jojo dropping to the ground and digging into the sand. After a moment, he finally found what he was looking for, and retrieved it from the sand for the crew to see. It was a handsaw, almost in mint condition or at least resembling it.

"What?! If ye had that there for all the time you've been stuck here-" Percy yelled from another cell, only for Jojo to interrupt. "If I had escaped dis cell, I would still be stuck on an island. And dey would've caught and killed me anyway" he explained, the Percy nodding his head in understanding. "But wait" Janice stepped in, "You're a carpenter right? And you had no way of escaping the island, right?" she asked curiously as excitement seeped into her questions. Salty nodded with a grin, almost as if he already knew what she was thinking.

"Well, we had a ship off shore that has damage, and we could you the help of a carpenter to get it back to normal" Janice described. Poppy and Percy both ran to the bars with hope swimming in their eyes, Percy stammering "That's right. So if ye can get us out of here and fix our ship for us, we will take ye with us". Jojo stroked his beard in faux contemplation, as he already had his answer, and nodded in agreement. Just then, he suddenly swung his saw against the rope on the gate and drew his saw back, cutting the rope and opening his cell door.

He hurried around to the other cages and did the same, setting the rest f the crew free as they gathered together. Percy stated "Alright, so there's an opening we made near this camp that leads out to our ship", Poppy then following "We're gonna need to hurry before those cannibals find out we're not here". With everything in motion, the crew and the carpenter in tow all carefully snuck their way out of the camp. With their path already set, it took them little effort to find their way in the dark and reach the boat.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the camp, the Banana King lead his people towards the cages, cheering "Alright, fellas! Dinners on!" As he approached the cages, he thought to himself "Oh, I wonder where I should eat the girl first. The leg, the neck, or how about in the-" before a shocking sight caused him to pause in the middle of his sentence. He shouted "The prisoners have escaped! FING THEM! KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!" at the top of his lungs, his minions squabbling around the camp in search of the escapees.

The Laughingstock had only just made it back to the boat by the time the Banana People started searching for them, and the crew could hear the Banana King scream from a mile away. "Dere be no time to repair de ship. We gotta fight dem off" Jojo declared, the crew all drawing their weapons in preparation for the oncoming horde. Janice was unarmed and had been ever since they got to this island, so she was forced to stay beside Poppy for protection. Those wielding swords stood in front of the ship whist gunmen and cannoneers were mounted on the side of the ship.

From the wilderness, the banana people sprinted single-mindedly towards the ship, all the while pulling their banana skins off and exposing themselves to the awed crew. Before now, with nothing but protruding legs, tendril and a pair of holes for the eyes, none would've ever known of the enormous maws that the banana people possessed. The creatures had mouth that took up the entire upper half of their body, with rows upon rows of teeth awaiting fresh rum-soaked blood.

And so the battle ensued. Gunfire rang out, cannon balls spawned such while sand clouds and the pirates struggled to hold back the storm. Janice stayed beside her peg pegged protector, watching carnage all around her before finally spotting the vicious Banana King himself. Poppy eyed him and charged with heroic vigour, and the two began to trade strikes. Janice stepped back and watched as the two evenly matched swashbuckler's fought, but soon began searching for something to defend herself while Poppy was preoccupied. But soon, with the head of the wooden staff, the Banana King pulled on Poppy's peg leg and brought him down into the sand.

The Banana King stood dominantly over his opponent and pointed the staff at his face, "I'm gonna use your peg leg as a toy for that little girl!" He rose his club over his head and prepared to bring down the killing blow, but a nearby "Hey, you!" caused him to pause and turn towards the defenceless little girl. With this, his grin grew ever wider and he snarled "There you are, my little morsel". He approached her and poked the staff against her chest, hissing "After this, you're gonna know why they call me the Banana King!"

But beyond what the king had anticipated, Janice stepped back and kick the head of the staff with all her mind, sending the shaft bludgeoning the king's gut and knocking him to the ground. Janice grabbed the head of the staff just before he fell and gripped the handle, using what strength she could muster to swing it at the king. The head collided with the cannibalistic brute's head, and the sheer impact caused the wooden staff to snap into many scattering pieces. "ARGH!" the king screamed in pain as he held the side of his face and fell into the sand, all those fighting now paused to turn and witness this act.

The banana people backed away from the crew and watched the king as he clambered up off of the sand. "My eye!" he screamed as he head hid only eye, "I can't see! You've hit my eye you little parasite!" He held his staff up and shouted "Kill them now!", expecting to hear the battle continue. But all was instead silent, and in his frustration he reached to grip his staff with two hands. But as he did, he found that the handle was not there, and neither was the head on closer inspection. "De staff be broken" Jojo chuckled, "Dey not be his puppets anymore".

"Everyone aboard the ship, quickly!" Poppy barked urgently, and all crew began climbing up the roped to the safety of the top deck and away from the warzone below. Janice was pulled up to the top by Poppy and all stood at the edge of the boat to watch the banana people below. "Freaks, hellspawn, my slaves, I am still the king! Now after them!" he roared, whimpering as he held his blinded eye. But they still did not follow his instructions. Instead they all gazed at eachother and then all eyes were fixed upon him.

"I am the king! I AM THE Ki-" he wailed before he felt his collar tugged from behind and was sent collapsing onto his back. "What! No! Wait! Stop! Please!" she squealed pathetically as the monsters dragged him away, slinking back into the forest from whence they came. "HELP ME! IM SORRY! SAVE ME, YOU USELESS DREGS OF LIFE! YOU WASTES OF MOTHER'S LOVE, I'LL KI-AAAAAAAAARGH!" he screamed before he disappeared, all trace of the banana people gone besides their discarded skins.

Sympathetically, Nathan asked "Should we help him or no?" as he contemplated the king's grim fate of being eaten alive wile blinded. Jojo howled with laughter and answered "Nah! Dis be giving us de time we need! Dey can eat him and I can have de ship fixed by de time dey get hungry again!" From this, all the crew cheered and roared in celebration of their victory. "Now, pine wood be tricky, so de fix will only last for a time" Jojo explained, but Poppy reassured him "The Treasure Islands be nearby to the west, so we can just sail there to get some real wood". "Ah! Good!" Jojo said as he took up his saw and headed of towards the jungle to collect his resource.

Hours later, the holes had been patched up and the crew were getting ready to set sail, Jojo finalising the checks. As the ship was pushed into the ocean, Ms. Laughingstock chuckled with excitement as she felt the cool embrace of the ocean against her panels. With the sunset in sight, Janice was watching it while she had a chat with the ship. "Are you feeling alright now, Ms.?" She asked curiously, though she had a feeling that she could guess the answer. "Oh my dear, I am always okay… But I do feel somewhat strange again". Janice raised an eyebrow and looked down, asking "Really? Like what?" Ms. Laughingstock frowned and looked to her left, "Ever since I entered the water, my left has…"

Janice wasted no time rushing to the side of the ship, much to the confusion of the ship itself, and she spotted exactly the cause she had both expected and hoped against. The pine panels were coming undone, and several panels were drifting away as water poured into the gaps. Janice shouted "The panels are open! The holes are open again, captain!" The captain wasted no time examining the problem for himself as Poppy rushed over to Jojo, yelling "Ye said that ye would fix it!" Jojo, for his part held his chin in contemplation "Dat does happen a lot when I fix ships, it be seeming. Me slavedrivers had de same problem when I fixed deir ship". The crew all stared at him with the most lifeless eyes and stances.

It's pretty safe to guess why he was marooned in the first place.


	5. Chapter 5 - The Treasure of the Lumberer

**The Treasure of the Lumberer**

Several days had passed since the crew of the Laughingstock had escaped Banana Island and the clutches off the animalistic banana people, and they were currently off the shores of the neighbouring Treasure Islands. Salty Jojo, in spite of what he claims, had been responsible for several delays due to his craftsmanship and he efforts to fix the ship. However, with the next island in sight, and by extension proper timber, it was take a conscious effort on Slaty Jojo's part to fail in his duty with such circumstances. Percy and Poppy stood at the helm of the ship, Poppy peering through a telescope to scan the island for any significant sights. Satisfied to find none he closed the telescope and placed it in his coat's pocket.

"All's clear" Poppy informed his captain, before taking the nearby stair and descending to the main deck. "Very good" Private Percy answered with a nod to the leaving party, then shouting into the wind "All 'ands on deck! Secure the sails and let go of the anchor!" The crew, scattering about to follow their orders, climbed the sail lines and circled the anchor's wheel. With synchronised weaving of rope and combined strength to pull, the sails were soon secured and the anchor descended rapidly into the depths before impaling the sands below. The ship soon steadied and came to a decent stop, bobbing idly in the equally passive reef.

Hearing this, Ms. Laughingstock smiled contently and shut her eyes, falling asleep to await their later departure and being soothed by the rolling waves. Janice leaned her folded arms on the rail of the ship's bow and rested her head, watching in awe of the island and the prospect of what adventures might await. Eventually, she stepped away and ran to the main deck to join the rest of the crew in the setup. She looked for Poppy and soon spotted him preparing one of the life boats, the crew all preparing to go ashore. Poppy turned to see her and waved her over with a faint smile, Janice smiling back and jumping into the lowering life boat to join him.

They landed in the ocean and the crew began rowing to the shore, a majority of the crew now in several life boats and steadily approaching the yonder beach. Percy stood at the edge of the boat, standing in a valiant pose as he kept an eye on the shore while he tried to maintain his balance. After a moment, a rather large wave crashed into them and Percy was sent wobbling ungraciously and nearly collapsing into the water, Janice watching him and chuckling deviously to herself. Eventually, the hulls of the boats sliced through the sands of the shoreline and the crew jumped off, all pulling the boats further upshore to prevent them dislodging and floating away. Poppy staggered through the sand and rested a hand on one of his hand cannons.

"Salty Jojo!" he barked to address the carpenter, the latter standing and saluting mockingly and answering "Present, mon!" The red-bearded rogue rolled his eyes and turned to point at a group of crewmembers, "Ye men get axes and collect timber!" With a salute and a hasty exit from the crew, Poppy said to Salty Jojo "Ye had best manage yer craftsmanship properly, carpenter". With a regardless smirk, Jojo took his saw and followed the crew towards the yonder forestry, Poppy shaking his head as he looked on.

Janice wandered aimlessly through the sand and stopped beside Poppy, looking over the sights of the island before her. "Treasure island" Janice began excitedly, "This is the part of being a pirate that I've been looking forward to the most". Poppy chuckled briefly, though his expression turned serious as he answered "Even then, it can still be dangerous. There is more to this island than you know". Janice looked over the sights of the island again, this time with concern, and Poppy finished "Besides, we're not here for treasure. We're just making repairs and then we'll get going".

* * *

Meanwhile, an impatient Percy had begun pacing along the tide, half-heartedly kicking some sand into the air. However, one certain kick of his boot drew his attention to a sudden cracking sown, and his eyes descended to a grizzly sight. A glass bottle was peaking slightly above the surface of the sands with its neck gripped by a mangled skeleton hand. "Ack!" Percy stumbled in shock and fell in the sand, but paused to focus on the bottle. He crawled to it and dug away the sand over the bottle, before cautiously gripping the bottle with the tips of his fingers and tugging it out of the corpse's grip. He squinted his eye to look inside the bottle before he pulled on the cork to open it, sliding its contents into his hand to examine it.

"Poppy!"

Poppy and Janice both turned to Percy as he ran over in excitement, a piece of fabric trailing in his outstretched hand behind him. He stopped and huffed "Tell the crew to scout the island! There be treasure to be found". He held out the fabric and Poppy and Janice could see it to be a treasure map, and the Private passed it over enthusiastically to his First mate and stepping back. "I've seen it, and ye can read it too… that map will lead ye to the treasure, and ye can bring it back to the ship when ye've found it" Percy explained optimistically before backing away. He pointed his thumb behind him with a nervous grin and added "I shall, uh… stay and… guard the ship. Can't be too careful, and I'm just the man to make sure the ship stays safe".

Janice and Poppy were not fooled, and immediately saw his pitiful ploy to escape danger. But Poppy grinned malevolently in spite of this and swung his arms apart with the map in both his hands. In an instant, the map split into several pieces and Poppy let them drop to the floor, Percy looking on in complete horror. "WHAT! NO!" Percy scrambled to the pieces and held them to his eye, but could not figure out how to fit the pieces together and restore the directions. "But… ye didn't even look at it" he whimpered, but Poppy just snickered with glee. "No, but _ye_ did" he answered as Percy sat up to look at him, "So I guess ye'll have to lead the way now". Percy huffed angrily with a glare as Janice giggled to herself.

With all the reluctance of twenty men, along with twenty men, a party was prepared to explore the island, Percy staggering awkwardly in the front as he cautiously lead the way to the treasure. Poppy was following close behind with Janice by his side, ensuring that Percy would do his duty as their leader and the navigator. They ventured inland and scouted the forests, Percy having naught but his memories and a single eye to guide him to the great wealth.

Along the way, Janice told Poppy "I'm so excited! I'm starting to love being a pirate!" with a spring in her step, "What do you think we'll find?"

"It's not what we find that I'm hoping fer" he answered with a cautious mutter, "It's what I hope we don't find". Janice raised a curious eyebrow and asked "Like what?" With a shifting gaze studying the yonder pathway, Poppy responded "It may be treasure Island, but only a few brave sailors bury their treasure here. This is the safest island to leave treasure, because few would dare to steal it". His hand drifted to his cutlass, and he concluded "This island, and everythin' on it, is protected".

Before Janice could inquire further, Percy intervened and stated "So, on the map… the directions lead to the location of a key". "A key? To what?" Janice asked quizzically, only for the irritated Percy to answered rudely "The Key to the treasure chest, ye stupid girl". Percy huffed and continued his lead while muttering "And ye call yourself a pirate", Poppy barely restraining himself from strangling him. Percy could sense his impending doom and quickened his pace, quickly addressing the crew as he told them "The location of the key should be somewhere in that clearing ahead".

Percy stepped into the lit clearing and searched around, several pirates following him and examining the surroundings as well. "Look for signs of a key, or maybe a box" Percy told the men. They spent several minutes roaming around the root-riddled terrain and circling the nearby trees, but none could find anything of significance. The crew were preparing to declare Percy's memory faulty, until Janice got an idea. She walked to Poppy and suggested "Where's the one place we haven't looked?" before pointing upwards. All pirates looked to the sky and their sights were all unitedly drawn to the branch of a certain tree.

For dangling on the branch of the tree, dangling from a rope and glittering in the light of the sun, was the key. The pirates gave a cheer and Poppy looked down at Janice with an impressed expression. Poppy reached into his coat and fumbled briefly for something specific, before soon drawing a small dagger. He prepared himself with a stance, the dagger held behind him, before he threw it with all his strength. The dagger flow and struck the rope, sending the key plummeting to the ground until it was caught by Janice. Almost as quick as she had caught it, it was snatched away by a disgruntled Percy as he sneered "Very clever. But we shall continue".

* * *

Just then, from beyond their sights, their ears beheld a most heinous cacophony from somewhere on the far reaches of the island. Something resembling the guttural bellow of a whale and the ominous creaking of a ship reached their senses. All the men stumbled around in panic, searching for the source of their terrifying noise. Even Poppy seemed spooked, something Janice was frightened by more than the sound itself. Percy, squirming pathetically, muttered "Press onward men… I-I shall guide us onward to our glorious treasure". With that, the crew continued inland and approached a stone landmass within the central regions of the island.

After a journey, the pirates could see a ridge around the corner of a boulder. Upon rounding it, Percy finally recognised the next clue from the map, the large mouth of a dark cave. "This is it, men! The treasure be in here!" he stated with unexpected enthusiasm. Poppy, however, became concerned and exclaimed "In there?! What if in there be the thing that made that noise!?" Percy frowned at the thought and stared nervously into the cave. But soon, the desire for riches overwrote the desire for safety. He maybe a coward, but he was a greedy coward. "Let's get going" he muttered sternly as he lit a torch to lead the way. Reluctantly, the crew did as ordered and fallowed, all lighting torches and descending into the long dark of the island's bowels.

As they delved deeper into the dark and sight of the cave's entrance was lost, the crew were soon faced with a labyrinth of dark tunnels, all leading different ways and none of them recognised by the guide. The cavern they were in was enormous and each tunnel was almost three times the height of a human. Percy looked through the many tunnels and haphazardly, swung his torch towards the many caverns, confusion and concern all but clear on his face. Despite no words being said, the hesitation from their captain was enough for the crew to tell that they were lost. Restlessly, one of the crew asked "Which way now?"

As this was said, the voice began to echo throughout the many caverns and rebounded off the walls, the sounds delving further into the depths of the cavern. In a panic, Percy turned and hushed the crew with an exaggerated finger wag, before covering his mouth. Janice herself was becoming uneasy with the times spent in this cave, terrible memories of the Skin Taker surfacing in her mind like a corpse on the surface on a lake. No matter where she looked, she couldn't help but imagine those ghastly eyes and that crooked jaw approaching her from the darkness, and she began to shrink away as she stood by Poppy's side.

"I don't understand" Percy stuttered anxiously, staggering about with his torch flailed disregarded at his side as he huffed aloud "The map never said anything about tunnels. It just said it be in the cave!" As he busied himself with stumbling in circles in his maddened panic, he lost track of his fitting and tripped over himself, dropping the torch to the floor and sending his crew stepping back in surprise. He pushed himself from the ground and dusted himself off before pausing at the sight of his torch, astonished by the sight that it now illuminated as it lay on the ground beneath them.

The dirt was loose and malleable, and had been kicked away to reveal a series of wooden planks. Percy's jaw dropped and eye eyes almost left his skull as he scrambled to the centre of the caver, hastily clearing away the remaining dirt for a clearer look. He rocketed to his feet and waved over a group of pirates and they approached with shovels to begin excavating. As they dug, Poppy turned to one of the tunnels and stared intensely for any unexpected sights. Eventually, they had loosened the dirt and wasted no time hoisting the wooden panels up, leaving nothing but a hole behind. Percy held his torch above this pit and all eyes peered inside, finally finding what they had been searching for.

A chest.

* * *

A quaint little chest with metallic hinges and significant amount of coral growth, though none regarded this as they had greater interests. They pulled the chest out and Percy retrieved the key coat, approaching the chest while it was held and inserting it into the lock. Twisting the key with a faint click, the lock fell to the ground and Percy placed his hands on either side of the lid. With a sharp breath of excitement and a smile, he lifted the lid and looked inside, the rest of the crew leaning in to follow his gaze. Janice watched the faces of all the pirates and noted their initial expressions, only for them to slowly fade into clear disappointment and bewilderment.

The chest was dropped to the floor and a pile of shells scattered across the dirt, the crew standing with deflated expressions. Percy kicked the chest, nearly breaking his foot in the process, and grunted "Shells?! Why?! Why would there be shells in a-". In the middle of his rant, he found his mouth clapped shut by Poppy's hand, who held him still and hushed him in a panic. Poppy looked around the cavern as Percy's raised voice rebounded off the stone walls and bounced all throughout the cave. He growled under his breath "We must stay quiet, ye fool. Something might be here that will-".

"Find ye?" a voice hissed from the darkness, and all the crew pointed their torches towards the tunnel they'd entered from. The crew were shocked to find none other than Horace the Horrible and his insidious crew awaiting their attention. Rushed by surprise, the Laughingstock crew drew their weapons and prepared for combat, as too did the Crackerjack crew. Percy drew his dagger and slunk into the midst of his crew for protection, while Poppy stepped forward and grunted "What be ye blasted curs doin on this god-forsaken landmass?!" Horace shrugged with a smarmy grin and answered "Hah! I just be herrrre to claim the trrreasurrre I be owed!"

Horace pointed his cutlass t the crew and his band of miscreants charged with a collective roar, each singling out their selected opponent and striking first. Janice hid behind Poppy as the peg legged pirate glared daggers at the approaching captain of the Crackerjack, both men readying for a scuffle. Horace's eyes drifted towards the girl by his side and grinned with both surprise and delight, "Oh! Ye'rrre still arrround, ye little brrrat?!" He cackled and continued "Skin Takerrr will be pleased you arrrre unspoiled", mortifying the poor girl and outraging her defender. Poppy charged at Horace and the pair engaged in a duel, both seeming evenly matched in terms of form and swordplay. However, as time went on, Horace gained a footwork advantage and disarmed the bearded buccaneer, leaving him defenceless and exposed.

Horace aimed his sword at Poppy as the latter held his arms apart in the air, but Poppy was remained calm and collected as he addressed the victor. "Tell me, scum. What worth be a chest of shells to ye?" Poppy hissed, Horace merely smirking in response for a moment. "It be havin' none, but it be havin' much worrrth to the merrrpeople we stole it from" the villain replied, "We ambushed them on the shorrre as they werrre leavin' and one rrrunt spilled his guts". Horace grinned to himself before adding "rrright beforrre _I_ spilled his guts ferrr good measurrre". "And ye plotted to ransom it, I imagine?" Poppy huffed with a sneer curling his lip, and a cackle from the scoundrel was all the confirmation he needed.

Just as Horace was about to dispatch his adversary, however, the entire war within the cavern was interrupted. Like before, the sound of a bellowing roar resounded throughout the cavern, though it was clear to all the source in question was indeed inside with them. Horace looked around with terror clear even on his minimal features, and he yelled "Rrrretrrrreat!" and lead the rest of this crew to the entrance of the cavern. Percy and Poppy both decided to pursue the lot, primarily to leave this cave and secondly to hunt down the escaping villains. But as the roars grew louder, the crew began to feel sudden tremors beneath their feet. The ground shook more and more until the sound of cracking sound was heard above them. Those who turned to face the source of the noise were witness to an incredible sight.

A monster, larger than anything that could be believed to exist even in the odd lands of Candle Cove. The beast resembled a bear in many ways, but such ways were twisted into amalgamations of horror by the creature's overall appearance. Blackened eyes, and upturned snout and the worn tatters of a black cloak where present. The beast roared a last time as it spotted the tiny pirates below, before salivating from its almost serpentine fangs. "Run! To the surface!" Poppy shouted, and the crew, especially Percy, wasted no time following this instruction. Trudging behind them with heavy steps, the beast gave pursuit as the crew followed the tunnel and all eventually reached the mouth of the cavern.

Stepping into the blinding daylight, Poppy took only a moment to get his bearings, disappointed to find that the Horace and his crew were no longer in side. But such things mattered not, and the crew continued their retreat to Ms. Laughingstock to hasten their departure. They found the beach and the ship was in sight, the hole in its sight seemingly repaired as evidenced by the replacement of its damaged panels. Salty spotted them approaching and was about to run up and greet them with great new, only to halt at the sight of the trees falling in the distance at the whim of a large and powerful pursuer.

"Make ready the ship for departure! Release the sails! Hoist the anchor!" Percy screamed in blind panic, and a rope ladder was dropped for the crew to climb aboard. One by one, the crew were aboard and joined their fellow men in preparation for the ship's hasty exit. Janice hid behind the banister of the ship and saw the monster pushed past two trees, both toppling without the slighted effort from the creature as it stomped towards the ship. Eventually, the ship began too move and slowly headed for the open sea, everyone screaming and yelling to go faster. The creature reached the edge of the water, but soon stopped before it could grip the stern of the ship, not daring to go any further. It let loose a final roar towards the onlooking frightened crew before turning away and retracing its path back to the island, eventually disappearing into the forest as the ship drifted further out to the open sea.

Poppy sat beside the cowering Janice and struggled to catch his breath, their hearts racing at the chaos they had experienced. Percy removed his hat and wiped his brow before staggering wearily to the helm. Janice, exhausted and trembling, looked back at the island and said "what… was that thing?" Poppy sighed and answered "It be only ever known as 'The Lumberer', but what it be exactly has never been found out". Janice curled up next to poppy who wrapped his arm around her, adding "Now ye understand…" before turning for one final glimpse at the island.

"Why this be the safest island of all fer buried treasure".


	6. Chapter 6 - Tartar Prisons

**Tartar Prisons**

The Laughingstock have been at sea for several days following the events of the Treasure Island, alongside their previous encounter with the Crackerjack pirates. With all of their haste to achieve escapes and retreats from great and terrible threats, the pirates had been left with little time to tend to their most basic needs for their travels. They had not the time nor opportunity to find supplies upon any of the islands they had landed on, though most had come to doubt if such supplies could be found in the places they had been. As a result, supplies of food and water and begun to diminish and the ship was on the brink of desperation, should they not find a suitable landing within the time they have left.

The crew had grown restless and anxious at the prospect of days to come, as they had yet to find a trace of land or port in the time they had sailed. Poppy had counted the remaining resources to establish rations to manage from the remainder of the voyage, and was disappointed to find only a week's worth of food and water remained. Ms. Laughingstock was determined to hasten her travels for the sake of her crew, while the crew themselves were under a spell of concern in their efforts to manage the ship.

Janice, spending her time now contemplating her future as a pirate and what they would entail, has become distracted from her own personal needs. She had not eaten since the prior day, largely due to negligence and partially in favour of peace and distance. Since then, she has neglected all following meals, though she has been largely ignored and never approached by other crewmembers on the matter.

As the ship crashed through the agitated waves and carved its way through the sea, Percy stood at the helm and observed his surroundings with a telescope. Has his gaze slowly slid across the surface of the horizon, he finally halted and his gaze landed on a distant figure. On closer inspection, he identified it as a ship that was approaching them. His breath becoming ragged with panic, he turned his scope upwards and studied the details of a flag. In an instant, he lost grip of his scope and shook with fright, recognising the ship as something from a pirate's worst nightmare.

"NPHC Ship off the port bow!" he screamed to the crew as he leaned from the top deck's banister, the rest of the crew turning to meet his equally terrified sights. Poppy staggered to the portside of Ms. Laughingstock and stared at the fast approaching ship, his lip curling into a sneer as he turned from to address the crew. "We have to make a stand! They will outrun us!" Poppy called to the men before glancing up at his captain for a response. Percy stumbled clumsily down the stairs and commanded "Arm yerselves! Man the cannons and await me command!"

"Wait a minute!"

All eyes turned to the young girl as she exclaimed "We don't have enough supplies to win this fight! We're out in the middle of nowhere and Ms. Laughingstock will be destroyed!" The crew murmured to eachother briefly and Janice held her hands together to beg Percy "We need to surrender!" Percy raised his eyebrow and stared at her for her utterly absurd request, as being arrested by the malicious pirate hunters would be a fate worse than any ship battle's outcome. Every second they contemplated this brewing plan, the ship was fast approaching and a series of sailors stop along a row upon the ship's sails.

From the bow of the approaching vessel came the call from a loud, bellowing voice. "Private Percy! You and your crew are under arrest for piracy! Surrender now or your ship and your ship shall be taken to Tartar Prisons!" Horrified, the squabbling pirate began to bicker erratically over the situation, but Janice took this opportunity to make her point. "If we surrender Ms. Laughingstock will be safe." she called out as the pirates fell silent and heeded her pleas, "We have no hope if we don't. At least we have a chance". The crew fell silent and exchanged lost glances between eachother, deciding amongst themselves the best course of action to follow. With a long, drawn-out sigh, the captain made a decision.

Soon, the NPHC ship aligned with the Laughingstock and the crew prepared to be boarded, having drawn their effects and dropped them onto the deck for the encroachers to confiscate. One by one, grappling hooks were cast to secure the ships together as privateers swung on ropes, soaring from ship to ship and landing expertly upon the Laughingstock to surround the crew. Arms raised in submission, the pirates were soon placed in irons and forced to their knees, awaiting to be escorted to the brig. The admiral of the ship oversaw the transfer and smirked, delighted at what news he had to bring to his employer.

The Navy Pirate Hunting Corps, or the NPHC as they have come to be known by pirates, were a rogue navy company tasked with maintaining the safety of the ocean from piracy. But unsatisfied with the restrictive methods, the NPHC developed an unbridled hatred for piracy and began to bend the rules in order to establish control over the ocean. And such drive lead them to manage the previously abandoned Tartar prisons, abandoned and outlawed for its abuse of discipline upon inmates and its overall cruel and malicious purposes. It was the perfect base of operations for the NPHC, and they've since established a name for themselves as the bane of all pirates in Candle Cove.

* * *

Chained, bound and locked away within the brig of a navy flagship, the crew of the Laughingstock were left at the mercy of their captors as they were transported across the ocean to the dreaded Tartar Prisons. Ms. Laughing stock was towed painfully by a rope around her teeth, threatening to damage her should she not comply with their pace. "Port, ho!" called the sailor from the crow's nest, as their destination loomed into view. A series of stone towers penetrating the ocean surface and ascending into the sky. All larger than any known castle, sporting iron frames around the exteriors between the prison walls and rows of barred windows, these prisons resembled exactly what it symbolised.

Bird cages. The simplest example of robbed freedom.

Within the dark and foreboding halls of these dungeons upon the sea, through the winding twists and turns of the peak, lay a room. A room coated entirely in darkness, its contents a mystery to even the soldiers who patrol it; save for one. It's inhabitant, the leader of the NPHC. The Earl of Wax. Few have ever seen his face, and even fewer remain who know of his real name, but his pseudonym is believed to have been inspired by the regions he wishes to conquer. The Earl of Wax, the master of Candle Cove as he has intended to become known.

Upon the door to the Earl's chamber, came a knock from one of the sailors outside. "Enter" spoke a low, bellowing voice from within the void, and the door was opened for the visitor by the two standing guardsman. He stepped into the blackened room and began to fumble slightly, before stopping as a blinding light suddenly shone within the room. His squinted gaze was lead to a figure standing within the light, the shadow of a man cast upon the wall by the light. The man, unfazed by the silhouette, addressed his commander "Sir, I have remarkable news. The laughingstock and its entire crew has been captured and taken into custody". He watched as the silhouette put its hands together in thoughtfulness.

"So…" he hissed, "Percy, that pathetic excuse for a pirate is mine at last, as well as that ruthless thug of a first mate". "Also sir" the marine added, "There is a young child serving in their crew who was captured as well". "It doesn't matter!" the Earl barked, "A juvenile pirate, but a pirate nonetheless. Imprison her with the others". With a quick and hasty salute, the messenger answered "Yes, sir". There was a pause, before the Earl raised a finger in the air, "And one more thing". The messenger listened intently as the Earl demanded "Place them in Cell Block B on Floor 5" with an insidious chuckle following thereafter.

As the messenger saluted a final time and made his way to the door, the room's darkness began to subside from the moment the door was shut. The chamber illuminated and various furniture began visible, and the Earl of Wax left his desk and approached the nearby wall. He stare mounted map and approached a nearby cabinet to retrieve a candle. Various ships were pinned upon the map, alongside various names of ships. With a grin, he took the candle and pulled down a model ship, modelled on the laughingstock itself, and held it above the flame. As the ship began to burn, he snarled "One step closer, and one less nuisance on the sea". With a dry cackle, he tossed the smouldering ship away and blew out the candle, once again basking in the cold and vile embrace of darkness.

In time, the Laughingstock crew were lead through though a dark labyrinth and were thrown ungraciously into a series of empty cells. Janice was pushed inside the cell on the far end of the camber, before the cell door was locked shut behind her. Poppy was meaning casually against the wall and Percy was huddled in a corner muttering unintelligible to himself. Whilst she questioned herself on her decisions that lead to this moment, her stomach growled voraciously and she held her hand against it in concern. The pirates would spend the next few minutes handling their situation in their own manners, some methods more productive than others.

"You lot outta get used to starin' and losin' your minds" came a voice from a nearby cell, "Because that's what those NPHC curs have in mind for the lo' of us". Poppy's eyes widened at the sound of this man's voice and he quickly approached the barred doors, desperately seeking a face to put to this familiar voice. The opposite cell housed a lone occupant, a young man with a slim build and blonde hair, dressed in naught but rags. The prisoner looked up and the two men's eyes met, both men suddenly left in silent surprise. The prisoner jumped up from his bed and ran to the bars to confirm his hopes, his disbelief shattered by a face he not expected to see.

"Milo?!"

"Poppy?!"

"Brother!" Poppy exclaimed with laboured breath from the initial shock, "It's been years!" Milo held his head against the bars and answered "I never thought I'd see you again!" as his grip tightened against the bars of his cell door, "How did ye get caught?!" Poppy grunted in response "We were caught with low supplies, so we had to surrender to save the ship". Piping up from his corner of the cell, Percy added "I'd also like to point out that it was not my idea and it was terrible and I regret following it". Poppy rolled his eyes and ignored his superior, returning to his conversation by asking "So what about you, brother? Last I heard, you were serving another crew".

Milo sat back down on his bed at the mention of his previous cohorts, hanging his head as the memories flooded his mind.

* * *

The Jolly Hounds, a crew of bandits that averaged robberies and sea battles of their own in their time. Milo served as their striker for several months since he was recruited in Cutlass Cove, and had been an exceptional colleague during their travels. However, one day, they had been hiding out off of the shore of the Sand Lands, collecting water from the Sand People who inhabited it. That day, they were suddenly attacked by the NPHC and made the hasty decision to fight back. But as their since was set to sink within mere minutes of the fight, their resources were lost to the ocean and his fellow pirates were mutilated in the cannon fire, Milo and the remaining survivors came to realise the mistake they had made.

The ship disappeared into the ocean, leaving only the dead, the dying and little debris to drift on the surface. The NPHC ship sent out longboats to inspect the wreckage, several of them busying themselves collecting the remaining intact resources. But as one of them passed him by, a sailor spotted Milo gasping for breath as he clung exhaustedly to a floating wooden beam. He was dragged up onto the boat and wrestled with little strength as his arms were bound n irons, before passing out as the longboats returned to the ship. He woke up the next day in his cell, and had by this time begun to lose track of the days past.

* * *

As they listened to the end of Milo's story, Janice's stomach aches had been growing steadily worse and she tried her best not to draw any attention. But as she held a hand against her shrivelling waistline, an idea came to her as she crept to the bars and whistled towards Milo. Milo watched as she whispered to him "I'll distract the next guard that comes by, and when he comes over towards me, I want ye to call out to 'im". Confused but obedient, Milo nodded and the pair sat back quietly in preparation. Soon enough, the next patrolling guard rounded the corner, keys on his belt and torch in hand, and marched his way through the chamber.

"Please!" Janice pleaded with tears in her eyes, "I'm starving. I'll die if I don't eat!" The guard looked down at her, his expression unchanged and cold, stopped and approached the cell before leaning down to her level. Squatting casually with a slight grin, he smugly answered "Serves a pathetic brat like you right for working with such vile company". He chuckled deviously and continued "Now if you lot will excuse me, I'm heading off to get some lunch".

"Hey!" Milo shouted from behind the guard, startling him and driving him to turn and face the unruly prisoner. Janice looked to Poppy and pointed hastily at the distracted guard, and Poppy immediately knew what the girl had in mind. With his attention elsewhere, Poppy reached through the bars and ensnared the guard's throat with his hands, before pulling him against the bars and slowly choking him. As the guard struggled, Janice reached through the bars and took a hold of the keyring, ripping it from his belt and pulling them inside. With a loud snap from behind her, she found the right key and rushed over to the lock. The pirates had begun their escape, and Milo would follow them and join their crew.

Poppy took the dead guard's sword and sought to put it to good use as they made their way to the outside of the prisons. The crew all rushed through the halls and snuck past whatever security they encountered, cautious to not alert the entire prison of their escape for as long as they could. As they descended to the ground level of the facility, they spotted the main entrance open and unguarded. They crept through the open hallway, anxious of being spotted, and scanned the outside for any witnesses, before each leaving and lurking out of sight as they circled the outside of the prison.

Eventually, they finally found the prison harbour, various vessels floating alongside the docks. Poppy pulled his telescope and searched carefully across the rows of ships, before finally spotting s familiar laughing skull. The Laughingstock was in the midst of being towed away from the harbour, and the NPHC in charge were making the final preparations. The captain of the tow ship called down towards the soldier on the dock "All preparations have been made! Prepare to release the ship for departure!" With a salute between the two men, the captain turned away from the banister and returned to the helm.

At last, no witnesses.

Before he realised it, the guard on the dock felt himself impaled from behind as a blade was thrust through his torso. Poppy withdraw his blade as the man grunted and a strike from Poppy's peg leg sent the guard toppling off the ledge and into the water below. He waved over the rest of the crew and they crept to his side, Janice's eyes never leaving the dripping blood upon his sword. Poppy rushed across the dock and cut the ropes tying the boat the dock, save for a last rope that he then pointed the crew to. They all began climbing to the deck of the ship when they were certain they were unobserved, the crew all skulking across the ship and remaining hidden from sight as the Laughingstock was taken out to sea.

* * *

The Laughingstock was uninhabited before the crew boarded it, as the sails were secured and the wheel chained down to ensure a smooth journey. The crew made quick work of remedying those hindrances as they set to work on freeing the miserable Ms. Laughingstock from her torturous bindings. Poppy watched the yonder tow ship through his telescope and found no security watching over the ship as it was towed. Janice leaned over the banister and found Ms. Laughingstock still bound by her teeth as she was towed, and Janice tugged on Poppy's coat. "I got an idea" she began, as she reached for a nearby pile of rope and held it before him.

Janice clung nervously as she was lowered towards the Ms. Laughingstock's face, the rope tied around her waist and a knife in hand. The ship slowly opened its eyes at the commotion and almost screamed with delight at the sight of her best friend, only to knowingly fall silent as Janice held a finger before her lips to silence her. Once in range, Janice swung to and fro and began cutting the rope wrapped around the ship's wooden teeth. One by one, they came undone and the ship was freed, drifting gently away from the NPHC ship.

With the bindings sever, the crew wasted no time removing the chains on the wheel and releasing the sails. With the wind on their side, they began sailing away from the ship, sure to not be seen by the tow ship or the prisons that now lay miles behind them and nearly out of sight. As they began to turn, Cannoneer Nathan came up with an idea and presented it to Percy and Poppy, both agreeing to it. Nathen ran over to Janice and asked "Hey, Janice, could you help me with the cannons? Let's make sure those NPHC punks don't follow us. Feeling particularly malicious, Janice nodded and manned one of the two cannons, Nathan manning the other.

One the NPHC ship, they were thankfully oblivious to the events that took place behind them, despite the sudden release of weight resulting from the Laughingstock's disconnection. All was quiet as they smugly sought to exorcize the spirit within the ship and repurpose it for the NPHC. But all at once, two cannon shots and a pair of explosions against the ship sent the entire crew collapsing from the force. The ship had been struck in its main mast, sending it toppling uncontrollably on top of the helm like a felled tree. The other shot struck the rudder, leaving the ship incapable of turning or even moving coupled with the missing mast.

As the ship drifted helplessly into the distance, Poppy and Percy looked on with smug grins on their faces. "See, I knew this plan would work out" Percy reassured, "I didn't doubt it for a moment". Irritated by nevertheless indifferent to Percy's blatant fib, Poppy ignored it and stood at the wheel to prepare their next voyage. Percy added "What's more be that even if the prisons realise that we've escaped, they won't find us and catch us before we land at our next destination". Janice overheard this as she climbed the staircase to the top deck.

"What is out next destination, Poppy?" Janice asked curiously, her hands together behind her as she swung her waist back and forth. "The Tartar Prisons are offshore from the Candle Islands, the grea'est Pirate port in all of Candle Cove" Poppy answered with a valiant smile. Percy nodded in agreement and explained "It's true. The NPHC wouldn't dare follow us there, since the entire island is filled with pirates. They would be spiders dancing in a hornet's nest!" With a victorious laugh, Percy left for the captain's cabin, leaving Janice to stand by Poppy as he steered the ship. "Finally, I can get something to fill my tummy" she thought to herself as she held her empty stomach in her hands.

As Janice made her way back down the stairs, she noticed Milo walking past her and up towards his brother. Poppy turned and nodded with a smile, Milo returning a cold sneer as he said "I see you're still workin' for that wimp of a captain". Immediately frowning, Poppy exclaimed "Ye may be me brother, but I will not tolerate a crossword about the captain". Repulsed by his brother's misplaced loyalty, Milo looked over the ship and watched Janice go about her way. He glared insidiously, thinking to himself "That young girl doesn't know it. But she is already dead".

Back at the Tartar Prisons, the NPHC and the Earl of Wax had become aware of the Laughingstock crew's escape and were naturally outraged. However, as they were leaving, they had been spotted by a prisoner who had remained silent. For this, the prisoner was discovered and taken to the torture chamber for interrogation, where he spend several minutes of agony before he finally requested to be taken to the Earl. The prisoner was dragged into the Earl's room, restrained by two guards at the Earl of Wax's feet. The Earl remains in the darkness as his silhouette is cast upon the wall, felling even the guards with fear and paranoia.

"And that's all you have to say?" the Earl bellowed from the darkness, his voice almost beastly in its tone. "Yar!" the pirate answered, "They be heading for the Candle Islands and they be takin another prisoner with them". Satisfied, the Earl nodded to the guards, who gripped the prisoner and dragged them away, the pirate suddenly realising what awaited him and screaming in fear. The Earl growled to himself as the door closed, cloaking him in pure darkness again. "You may have luck on your side, you wastes of mother's love" he snarled as he stood up and approached his map. With his head bowed, he finished "But all luck runs out".

With that, he stuck the charred Laughingstock upon the board once again.


	7. Chapter 7 - A Ship on the Horizon

**A Ship on the Horizon**

As if constant battles with enemy pirates, the unending terror of a vicious undead fiend weren't menace enough for the crew of the Laughingstock. But as of late, they have unwittingly drawn the attention of a new threat in the form of the Navy Hunting Pirate Corps, only having escaped from one of their prisons by sheer luck. But now, as they drew close to the port of the Candle Islands, they could at least temporarily find safety and salvation in the company of fellow pirates, as well as find time to resupply as long last.

A plank was lowered to the dock and the masters of the ship sauntered down across it, Poppy and Percy leading several deckhands into the town to spend their gold on provisions. Janice followed Poppy down and was lead deep into the heart of the pirate town, having many interesting and amusing sights to see as they made their way through to the market. From the balconies sang drunk brigands, through the windows were fights seen and along the streets walked wobbling and unstable drunkards. The whole place seemed like a never-ending party, and she could think of no equivalent in her time at her home.

While Poppy tended to purchasing stacks of water to drink from the market, he had lead Janice to the nearby Tavern and left her there to wait for him. She sat alone at a table in the dark corner of the tavern, avoiding attention and drinking in the environment. She listen to some music played from the top floor of the tavern and watched as several pirates chatted unintelligibly. She was so immersed in the surroundings that the never realised that she suddenly had company, and was startled to find a mysterious person sitting across the table from her.

The person was garbed in a large back cloak which covered the entirety of them body, alongside a pair of black gloves and leather boots. He wore a black tricorn that hung forward over much of their brow, though it did little to obscure the face as the black cloth over his head did. "Janice" the shrouded man greeted with a raspy whisper, "You do not belong here". Janice had no clue who this person could possibly be, as she hadn't recognised the voice that they spoke with. He continued "I know a way, my dear. A way for you to go home and leave this place".

This was absurd. Why would this stranger be saying this to her? Did she know this person? Why were they hiding their identity if she did? How did this person know her?

Janice sunk into her seat in noticeable discomfort over the situation, the mysterious person seeming to acknowledge this. "I mean you no harm my dear" he explained, "But if you remain here in Candle Cove, you will surely die. This land is not forgiving to children, much less the dregs who inhabit it". With that, he rose from his seat and said "I may see you again, and I hope you consider my offer", before fluffing his collar and skulking away into the crowd. Janice was once again alone with her thoughts, a habit she had hoped to avoid since she ran away from home.

As Poppy and Janice made their return to the harbour and approached the ship, they spotted Private Percy and Milo awaiting them. "Everything is set, first mate Poppy and Janice. We will head out to open sea and chart our course from there" Percy instructed with an off-putting confidence. "Very well. Come along, Janice" Poppy answered before staggering up the platform with the young lass in tow. Percy and Milo joined them with Milo casually taking his time, Percy reaching the deck and turning back to address him. "Let's go, Milo. We don't have all day" Percy barked, but found himself held by the collar in a tight grip.

Milo stared with wild eyes and snarled "Listen to me, you little runt! I don't take orders from you!" Percy squeaked in fright at his hostility and Milo basked in his desperate squirming, growling in a low voice "You are the most pathetic pirate who ever lived, and you don' deserve to be captain of this ship". He tugged Percy close and held him inches from his own breath, his parting words being "So you'd better do as much as you can, Percy. Because if I ever get the chance, I will show this crew just how much better I would be!" Percy was released and left gripping his collar nervously as Milo slowly stomped away muttering under his breath.

As he was leaving, he noticed Janice watching him from a distance, her glance clear with concern as she watched what just happened. "What are you looking at?" he exclaimed towards her as she jumped back in surprise, "This is what it takes to be a true pirate in Candle Cove". He stumbled towards her and she began to stumble back, but he quickly seized her arm as she held it up to protect herself in a panic. "You will die, and nobody will remember you!" he spat, "You should never have come here!"

"Milo!"

Milo felt himself roughly yanked away from Janice and pulled upright to face the culprit. Poppy, his face glowing a furious red, roared "If ye ever threaten the cap'n or Janice ever again, ye will have to answer to me!" With little effort and a great deal of power, Poppy swung Milo away and sent him staggering clumsily across the deck. Milo steadied himself and turned to face the pair; but oddly, all malice was gone from his eyes and replaced with confusion and dread.

"Y-yes sir…." The blonde brigand answered before he turned to address Janice, "I'm so… sorry". Without another word, he left hold his palm against his head as his thoughts were swimming with regret and guilt. Poppy sighed and held Janice close, whose own thoughts were preoccupied. "He's so mean" she thought to herself as her head hung in defeat, "But he might be right". She shook her head and leaned close to Poppy's leg as she thought "Maybe I should find a way back home". Even if her life was miserable, it was at least a life; and when faced with death and what came thereafter, any alternative is preferable.

Milo wandered past the captain's cabin and paused for a minute, stopping to watch as Percy studied some charts at his table. After a moment, he left for his private quarter's, leaving his maps on the table. Still bitter and filled with envy, Milo decided that he would need every opportunity to undermine Percy as possible. With a devious grin, he snuck into the room and examined the maps, finding the charted course laid out by the cowardly courier. He examined each map and found one with similarities and used it to replace the one Percy had chosen. With his task done, he left the room before he could be spotted, congratulating himself on demonstrating true pirate etiquette. But in his haste, he took no heed to where the replacement map would lead them.

* * *

The ship sailed out to the open ocean and all was smooth for a majority of it, little to remark on as they went about their duties ensuring a smooth journey. But then, unexpected by any, the sea suddenly found itself blanketed in a dense mist, shrouding much of the ship's surroundings in mystery. Ms. Laughingstock squinted her eyes in a futile attempt to see through the fog, and the crew were chilled to the bone by the immediate drop in temperature. All were befuddled, especially Percy and Poppy, who hadn't predicted these circumstances from what they were shown on the charts. The winds started to pick up and the waves of the ocean grew rough, creating an uneasy atmosphere for the ship and its occupants.

Poppy descended the stairs to the main deck and looked over the crew, before his eye fell on a lone figure resting his arms against the banister and looking into the yonder haze. He sighed and staggered his way towards Milo and stood beside him, realising that Milo still seemed upset. "Brother" Poppy started as Milo gave him a subtle glance to demonstrate his attention, "It be great to see ye again, and I be proud to have ye in our crew". "_His_ crew" Milo corrected with a deep breath, bring Poppy to sigh and rest his hands in his coat pockets.

"Nevermin' it, Milo. Leave it alone" the Scottish scoundrel insisted, "We have other things to worry about; and so do ye. _Especially _ye". "Like what? What have I left to lose?" Milo questioned unenthusiastically, finally turning to face his sibling. "You're a wanted man. The NHPC will no doubt have a price on our heads. And what about me? We've only been together again fer a day". Milo merely shrugged with an indifferent expression on his features as he slowly turned away.

"And what about Sariah? Remember her?"

Milo visibly tensed at the mention of that name and began shaking, his hand closing into a quaking fist and his lips pursing. "She loves ye, Milo. And no doubt she means a lot to ye" Poppy encouraged with clear hope in his tone. But as Milo, avoiding his brother's eyes and hiding his face, answered "Yes. She definitely did", all colour and warmth was instantly drained from Poppy's blood. He now understood, and frowned as he offered a sincere apology for his brother's grim loss. "Don't be sorry" Milo huffed as he rubbed his eye with his blue bandana, "I have no use for it".

But at some point, teeth and fists clenched, Milo snapped "Why do you defend him. He's worthless!" "Don't get me wrong, I hate the little pipsqueak" Poppy corrected hastily, "But infighting in our crew isn't gonna get us anywhere". Milo was left speechless, as nothing Poppy was saying made any sense to him. "So you oppose him whenever you want, but I cannot?" Milo grumbled with a sneer curling his lip, "Are you just a hypocrite or is this all so you can spite me?!" Poppy was caught off guard by this hostile inquiry, but could not rebut before Milo shoved past him and stormed awa. Milo looked back and hissed "If it's the latter, then I have nothing to say to you" and continued on his way, leaving his forlorn brother alone and baffled.

Seeking to clear his head, Poppy stepped into the captain's cabin and stopped before the table, looking down to examine the details of the map. Initially out of mild curiosity, Poppy furrowed his brow as he started to notice irregularities in their charted course. He worriedly shifted through the various maps and eventually found the one he had wanted, as he recognised the course that the ship was meant to lead. Poppy sighed and hung his head in frustration at Percy's blunder, before bolting upright in shock and examining the two maps once more. If they were not going the right way, then which way were they going?

As the ship carved its path though the ominous tides, the sea continued to grow rougher and much more unpredictable. "Where in blistering barnacles are we going?" Percy grunted, completely baffled by the unfamiliar surroundings. As he squinted through the fog, he heard a call from below the banister from his first mate, shouting "Ye fool! Ye be followin' the wrong map". Poppy waved his hands to get Percy's attention as the map flapped freely in the harsh gale, calling "Ye've been leadin' us straight into the Abyss-".

Just then, the already tormented ship had begun to reach its threshold of abuse from the ill-humoured ocean, rocking dangerously as the ocean tossed it about. The crew hastily went about their duties and were even sent into the air from the impact of the waves upon the hull. The ship was sent out of control as the winds summoned tidal waves to finish the job, all of them sweeping across the deck and carrying everyone with it. Janice was thrown to the floor and was left dazed and nauseous from the impact, before she was hurled through the air and sent plummeting into the dark waters off the bow of the ship.

From there, she would fall unconscious.

* * *

She could never be sure how much time passed since she was thrown from the boat and when she would next awaken, and none could be sure to this day. Nevertheless, despite all odds, she had survived and awakened out of the water. She opened her eyes and weakly tried to brush the sand from her hair and face, raising her head to find herself in a grey desert landscape. She stood up and looked around at the truly anomalous environment, as all possible colour that would otherwise exist did not and the land was left as a black and white plain as a result.

She stumbled through the sand and wandered directionless through the ice cold mist, searching desperately for any sign of Ms. Laughingstock or any of the crew; or at the very least something sentient. After several minutes of searching, she was not recovering from her initial condition and began to worry as to whether she was sick or injured without her knowledge. Her breathing became hoarse and dry, the cold flooding her lungs like smoke and draining the warmth of her skin.

Eventually, to her it was a miracle, as she finally spotted several small figures in the distance, though was confused at why they were such a small size. Whether or not they were her friends, she decided it is better to investigate than to miss an opportunity for rescue. She approached and called out in a dry raspy tone "Hello! Help me! I'm lost!" She got closer and saw the figures visibly turn to face her, though they were still shrouded in the fog. "Come… Join us…" she heard from their direction, "Do not be alone". Her paced immediately began to slow, a sense of wariness washing over her from these ominous words.

Finally the mist no longer separated them. And in an instant, she regretted her decision.

They were all children, but were nothing beyond something from the worst of nightmares. They're skin was rancid and purple with decomposition, and along their arms were exposed bones and missing arm flesh. They shambled towards her and she screamed, before turning and running as fast as her weary limbs could carry her as they followed after her. "Do not run away" she heard from behind her as she ran, vastly outrunning them as they stumbled slowly in pursuit. After a short chase, the Abyssal Creatures stopped and looked on as she disappeared into the fog, certain she may return as a friend.

Had shown known just how much time she had spent wandering through this desert without any progress or sense of time had pasts, she may have very well given up and collapsed into the sand to await death. She began to tremble from the cold air and desperately tried to warm herself in any way possible, to unfortunately no avail. Every time she rubbed her hands together, the sensations inside her hands would dull and they would grew evermore pallid. She knew now for sure that something was happening to her, but she had not the strength or the will-power to acknowledge it.

Her condition only proved to worsen as time passed, and its severity made itself known as Janice began to physically changed from her ailment. She lost control of her legs for a brief moment and fell into the sand, but soon mustered enough energy to lift herself from the sand and pressed on. Soon enough, as her skin began to turn purple, she finally surrendered to fatigue and collapsed, not to get up. As she lay still and nearly breathless and her vision began to fade into darkness, she listened desperately for someone to find her. Friend or foe, at least she would not die as she had lived.

Were she awake and aware of her surroundings, she would've felt herself pickup up and hastily rushed across the dunes for a time and laid gently against a wooden platform. Twitched and writhed as she was rocked back and forth by mild tides and was carried upwards onto a ship. She was laid against mast and the faint sound of a panicked Scottish accent slipped through the haze. Footsteps could be felt around her and the recognisable clunking of a wooden leg faded into the distance.

Poppy barked to the scrambling deckhands "Raise the anchor! Drop the sails and 'ard to port!" and quickly rushed up the steps to the helm where Private Percy once again resided. "We outta have that girl thrown overboard and left here for the Ab-" Percy snidely remarks before he was silenced by the imposing approach of his first mate. "Between ye and me… Ye'd be better off tellin' the crew to 'ead for the Glitterin' Isles" Poppy growled, "And say it was _yer_ idea too". With a nod of assurance from his captain, Poppy leaned over the banister and saw Janice in her crippled state, swearing to make sure she will be saved and cured in time.

* * *

The crew were right to make haste for Janice's sake, as her affliction extends beyond a simple illness. Her presence as a child within the Abyssal Kingdom, a dark and lifeless realm in which only undead and cursed beasts lurk, had begun to transform her physically. Had she stayed any longer, then she would have eventually become yet another Abyssal Creature, small undead creatures with skeletal features that roam alone and unloved in an empty landscape.

But her strife didn't end at their departure, as only one thing could cure her ailments and purge her soul of the Abyssal curse. Across the sea, to the very far north of Candle Cove, lay the fabled and magical Glittering Islands. With the magical pools that lay within this enchanted landmass, any and all curses and afflictions shall be purified. It had laid days away and Janice rapidly approached her full transformation, no matter wat haste the crew made to reach it. Even as they landed off shore of the island, Janice had less than a day before she would reawaken as a soulless husk.

Janice was lifted from her bed and carried to the side of the vessel, Poppy having prepared a longboat to take them to the Isles. He lowered her inside and said to himself "I hope I'm not too late yet", watching as she squirmed restlessly and heaved raspy breaths. Milo stopped beside him and watched the writhing child, but his attention was soon drawn to an odd sound below the side of the deck. He looked over the side in search of the source of a strange rattle and several hollow clicks, and was startled by the sight awaiting him.

All at once, over the banister of the man deck climbed several unwanted stowaways, undoubtedly from the Abyssal Kingdom when they left. Skeletal in form and sporting coral-like tendrils remerging from several orifices, they guarded Janice and threatened the wary pirates. Poppy pulled his sword and a flintlock in preparation, provoking one of the Abyssal monsters to rush towards him while savagely swiping its claws. The rest of the crew followed the first mate into battle and quickly gained the upper hand, backing the overwhelmed monsters to the edge of the boat. Poppy, shocked by a realisation, yelled "Mind the longboat! Do not let Janice get hurt!"

Milo was currently struggling with one of the creatures and was gradually overpowering the fiend, finally gaining the opportunity to kick it away and send it staggering into the longboat. The sheer impact, to his shock, had loosened the lines supporting the boat and sent it free-falling into the water below. With a brief moment as he focused on a monster, Poppy turned to check on the longboat and nearly dropped his weapons in disbelief. "WHERE BE JANICE!" he roared at Milo with both horror and rage, Milo left flustered and unable to explain himself as the creature retaliated against him.

Janice was left helpless and alone once again, bobbing idly in the lifeboat as it drifted away from the ship. Her movements had stiffened in the time that had past and her spasms slowed to an occasional twitch, seeming as if even if her subconscious had lost the will-power to preserve itself. With no immediate way to be rescued, she would have been all but doomed then and there. But as she slowly succumbed to her fate, the boat suddenly thrust forwards as the oars swept through the tide. The longboat approached the island, and the transporter watched the comatose child through his black mask.

The longboat landed on the island, and the mysterious cloaked man wasted no time retrieve Janice and carrying her towards the island. He stopped to look back towards the reef and the Laughingstock, flinching at the sight of a second longboat approaching the island. They had undoubtedly defeated the Abyssal monsters and spotted the lifeboat on the shore of the island. With this knowledge, the cloaked man hurriedly disappeared into the thick grove of the glorious island.

The island is famed not only for its rejuvenation properties, but for its sheer beauty and wonder to behold. The Island sported a grove of enchanted trees that were unique in all ways, bearing many glowing buds and shining gold leaves. Like a thousand drifting golden fireflies in the dark overgrowth, the glowing buds swung with the wind almost rhythmically as if to a heavenly song. Soon, the stranger and Janice arrived at the heart of the island, one of many enchanted pools that glowed with an unnaturally glorious light. Discomforted by his presence amidst this environment, the stranger carefully lowered Janice into the waters, leaving her head to rest against the bank. And satisfied, the stranger took his leave and disappeared into the wilderness, leaving an unknowing Janice to recover.

By the time the pirates had arrived and reached the centre of the pool to find her, the magical properties of the island had already taken effect. Her skin once again bared pigmentation and her erratic twitching was instead replaced with a peaceful slumber. Though Poppy had been relieved to find her, he was truly baffled as to how Janice had come to be here. He looked around the island in the hopes of spotting anything possibly responsible, before finally deciding to savour this miraculous conclusion. He retrieved Janice from the pool and carried her back to the shore whilst she remained in her deep sleep.

Poppy and the crew made their way back to the ship and were lifted to the main deck from within their longboats. Poppy carried Janice and stepped off of the boat, the crew all relieved to find that the lady landlubber had returned. Nathan especially was glad to have his friend back in action, while Dr. Heartfelt was pleased to find that the power of the Glittering Isles continues to disregard his knowledge of science in the best of ways. Meanwhile, Percy and Milo looked on as disappointment was subtly written on each of their faces. Had they known that the other was dismayed to find the girl alive, it may very well have been the one thing they had ever agreed on.

"Drinks fer everyone!" Poppy cheered from a distance as the rest of the crew cheered and applauded, excitement ringing out as the ship sailed off into the rapidly setting sun. At the last light faded, the Glittering Isles continued to shine and the stranger looked on. He had remained behind, but didn't much care, as little concerned him beyond the preservation of the young girl. "Farewell, Janice" the man croaked, abandoning his fake tone as he whispered "But we shall meet again soon". With no longer a use for his disguise, he shed his cloak and abandoned his Bicorne. He retrieved his hideous black top hat and removed his mask to adorn his head with it.

"Bare caution, young lady" the Skin Taker chuckled malevolently, "Children would do well not to wander the abyss". He reached into his cloak and drew his filleting knife, examining his horrendous reflection in the blade. "Had you become one of those worthless Abyssal things…" he began before pausing to dragging his bony finger against the sharp blade, "You would have ugly skin". Smugly watching as the oblivious Laughingstock crew celebrated in the distance, he wandered alone on the beach with a casual strut and his hands behind his back. He chuckled and added "And I can't possibly use that on my cloak, now can I?"

He then cackled, a cackle so putrid and malicious that even the Glittering Isles seemed to lose its light.


	8. Chapter 8 - Milo's Fateful Choice

**Milo's Fateful Choice**

The party aboard the ship Laughingstock had been merry and joyful, not least for the first mate Poppy. After a frightening escapade with the young Janice and her recently remedied curse, Poppy sought the first moment of relief and relaxation in the form of pints of grog. The crew had emptied barrel after barrel into the night, and were left almost barely even able to walk. With their celebration over, they had all retired to the crew's quarters and collapse out of fatigue. Janice had enjoyed herself but was similarly drowsy, residing in her own hammock as Ms. Laughingstock rocked her to sleep. Elsewhere, Milo was passed out drunk in the cargo hold, laying atop a grog barrel he had snagged away and hogged to himself.

Whilst he slumbered, many odd things occurred in the cargo around him, eventually rousing him from his state. His eyes fluttered open and he lifted himself up with a groan, straining his eyes around to find the source of the commotion. Eventually, he had gotten onto his feet and shakily staggered through the hold, slowly becoming anxious as the sounds grow louder. "Good evening, Milo" a voice croaked, the sound echoing in the silent room as Milo's hair stood on end. Realising he was not alone, he stuttered "W-who's there?" as he shifted and turned with fright at every small noise around him. Eventually a gust of wind blew through the window and chilled Milo to the bone, bringing him to turn and face the window's direction. Immediately, his heart stopped and sank into his chest and his blood ran ice cold.

There. He stood there staring with his crystalline eyes as his jaw rocked limply back and forth, his greasy black back blowing gently in the wind. "It has been a long time, Milo" the Skin taker greeted with sickening grace, "A long time since we had worked together". The ghoulish skeleton stepped forward with a lanky shamble, "But I cannot blame you for that. After all, you have been a bird in a cage for a long time now". Milo, shaken with paralysing fear, stammered "Why are you here?! What do you want?!" Even without the presence of curling lips, Milo could sense the Skin Taker's malevolent smile. "I have a task for you that will benefit thee both of us" he hissed with a clatter of his teeth, "I need you to kill for me once again".

Milo backed away with a confused and delirious stare, "No… No, not again! Why must it be me?!" "Oh calm down, you witless bilge rat" Skin Taker spat, "Like I said, it will benefit us both". With no strength to oppose this terrible foe, Milo hung his head and asked "Wh will it be this time?" Straitening his posture, the Skin Taker answered "That fool Private Percy. The rest of the crew matter not, but Percy must die!" In a mere moment, Milo's terror was replaced with intrigue, as he aid "What? Really?! That pathetic whelp?" But before he got too excited, he then frowned and said in realisation "They'll know that it was me! I cannot lose another crew! I only just got free and found my brother and-".

"Quiet!" the skeletal fiend snarled, "You won't blubber to me like this and you will serve your master!" Now trembling and nearing a hysterical episode, Milo answered "Yes! Yes, master! I will not disobey you!" A silence lingered, before Skin Taker snickered and added "And besides, you have already done such things before". Milo's heart sank at these words as his mind was sent back to his days amongst his old crew, and all the terrible deeds he had freely committed in that time. Contrary to his insistence, Milo had been a ruthless and bloodthirsty bandit, a figure of violence and aggression that even his own crew had come to fear.

"And don't forget her" the Skin Taker insisted with a slimy glimmer in his eye, "She had once meant much to you, hadn't she?"

Sariah. The very mention of that name fanned the flames of hell that awaited Milo and his fouled soul. Had they known, nobody would forgive him for what he did to his lover, as he refused to ever forgive himself for it. "Not even your love for her could stand in our way" Skin Taker insisted, "If you could murder her, then you can murder your poppy". Milo began to sweat uncontrollably as Skintaker stood before him with a knife pointed at his chest, "Don't disappoint me again".

Milo blinked for only a moment, and was surprised to find nothing the moment he opened them. He was alone as far as he could see, and the Skin Taker had vanished from sight. Nevertheless, the paranoia had manifested in Milo's soul and he dared not take a single step out of line in case he was not. The panic overwhelmed his senses and he toppled to the floor, slowly curling into a ball and quaking silently. He remained there for the entire night and refused to sleep, his mind poisoned with nightmarish visions and delusions of his future doom.

* * *

The following morning, preparations to sail were sluggish and disorganised and none of the crew were on their best form. Those who had not suffered the consequences from their drinking were taxed by their strained muscles following their dances and occasional scuffles. In spite of this, the crew set to work on preparing the ship to sail, and Percy sat at the helm overseeing his crew. Several supplies that had been taken to the top deck for the party remained and Percy ordered them to be returned to the cargo hold. To the best of their abilities, the crew clumsily dragged the equipment down to the hold with an evident level of difficulty.

From his perch, the watchful Courier soon turned his attention to a specific sight; a specific iron locked chest being carried by two crewmembers into the lower deck. Hastily he called "Wait, ye two! Hold it!" Before running down the stairs and charging into the lower deck of the ship. Milo watched him from afar from a secluded corner of the ship, desiring to remain unnoticed as he spied on his target. Curious, he quickly followed after him and entered the lower deck, eventually reaching the cargo hold and spotting the pirates conversing.

"So just leave the chest here for now and then take it up in an hour!" Percy instructed, "Now head to the deck!" The pirates hurriedly stumbled up the stairs and Percy slowly followed after them, unaware of the eyes watching over him from a distance. "It would seem that this chest is of importance to Percy", Milo reasoned, "I wonder what is inside it?" Carefully, he approached the chest when he was sure he was alone and lifted the lid open to peer inside. His lips curled to a smirk as he found a collection of golden coins, completely unworthy of its owner. Instantly, his smile disappeared as he looked around the cabin, suddenly having the perfect plot.

He dumped the contents of the chest and hidden it in a far section of the cargo hold and took the empty chest with him. He stopped by the stash of ammunition and took a barrel of gunpowder, hastily pouring gunpowder into the chest. With a malicious snicker he took a crate of grapeshot and sprinkled it amongst the powder, revelling in the awaiting anarchy that would follow. Finally, he found a fresh role of cannon fuse and took it with him as he carries the chest back to its original spot. He placed the tip of the fuse in the chest and ran it out the back between the chest's two hinges, leading it far into the cargo and ending it towards the bottom of the stairs. Standing proud with his handiwork, he headed to the top deck again to see what has happened in his absence.

"Where is Poppy?" Milo heard as he reached the surface, finding Janice in her typical raincoat wandering about the deck. Nathan, tending to a cannon, answered "He's still passed out drunk. I reckon he let himself get a bit carried away, but I don't blame him. He was really worried about you, after all". Milo huffed and hung his head at the mention of Poppy and Janice. It seemed Poppy cared more for Janice than his own brother, and the mere thought made his blood boil.

Percy dusted his hands and pointed to two deckhands, "Ye men, follow me! We're taken the loot chest to me cabin". With a subtle groan from both men, they followed Percy into the cargo hold and a curious Janice cautiously followed after them. Milo flashed a wicked grin; both of his enemies dead. It seems like things may work out from this villainous plot after all and Milo will succeed in getting everything he wanted. He crept down the steps and crouched beside the fuse, avoiding people's sights as he quietly lit the fuse. The fuse burned away very quickly and would detonate the trap in mere moments, further assured as Percy was unaware of the burning fuse as he bickered with his two deckhands.

Milo stood beside the steps and was preparing to leave as he rose from his sitting position, but soon noticed the sound of steps approaching him above. He turned his gaze upwards and gasped in horror, as none other than his brother staggered his way down steps and passed him. He had completely neglected his brother from his fatigue and wandered towards the group ahead, muttering "Cap'n! Forgive me fer being late". Milo looked towards the fuse and saw it was ascending the side of the chest. In a sudden panic, Milo ran up the stairs and out of sight. The pirates turned to see the source of the commotion, allowing the fuse to pass inside the chest.

* * *

It happened all at once and none were prepared for it, not even the one responsible for it. A loud, ear-splitting explosion came from the bowels of the ship and smoke rose from every orifice of the ship. Ms. Laughingstock was lest screaming in agony as every crewmember was knocked off their feet. After a few moments of bewilderment, the crew jumped to their feet and descended into the cargo hold. The thick smog and drifting ash flakes, the crew spotted several figures lying in the midst of the carnage. Milo watched from the stairs and concentrated of any sign of movement, and several moments passed to imply a preferable result. He sighed with a lifeless breath, unsure whether to consider himself a victor or a failure.

But soon, several planks of wood were shifted out of the way as one of the lying bodies pushed itself off the ground, and the rest of them slowly followed after. Janice had tears streaming down her eyes as she held her ringing ears and squinted through ash-stained eyes. Poppy shook himself and soon spotted Janice crying, quickly crawling over to tend to her. Finally, Percy, the luckiest survivor of all, groaned as he ascended to the straightest posture he could manage. Fragments of shrapnel littered the room and Percy stared down at the chest with a baffled expression. "What happened" a mortified Poppy asked as he choked lightly on the smoke, but was only met with silence for a moment.

"This was no accident" Percy insisted with a dead look in his eye, "Someone tried to kill us!" Poppy, equally baffled, turned downwards to hold Janice closer, rage and animosity blooming upon his features like flames upon a wildfire. "We have an assassin and a trai'or among us!" Poppy roared in outrage as he drew his cutlass, pointing it at the gathered crew by the stairway. "I swear me life that I will find whoever this fiend be and teach him a new meanin' of pain! Mark me words!" He carried Janice in his arms as she clung to him with dear life, Poppy storming out of the cargo as he declared one last time "I swear, the trai'or shall die and be sent off to hell like the filth they be!"

Percy dusted himself off and shakily shouted "Indeed! All men will investigate the ship and find me this traitor! He must not be allowed a second chance or to escape!" The squabbling pirates parted and returned to the main deck; all except for Salty Jojo; who approached his captain while looking over the carnage. "You and de girl be lucky. You be both alive and de ship should be okay. Dere be no damage from what I be seein'". "Make minimal repairs, then" Percy spat as he blew ash off his hat, "But I have me eye on ye, because this didn't happen until ye joined us". Shocked but still dutiful, Salty went about his repairs and Percy left the lower deck.

Janice spent her time consoling Ms. Laughingstock whilst she herself recovered, Poppy continued to search for the traitor and Milo remained in the shadows, driven to the brink of madness by his complete failure. He was surprised at how little damage was caused by the explosion, but was left in disbelief when his target had somehow escaped with minimal injuries. He was unable to sleep that night, and found himself wandering the deck of the ship alone and unobserved as he mulled over his remaining options and he overall situation.

* * *

Janice woke up with a start as her arm began hurting from the explosion, and she was unable to go back to sleep. Restless, she left the crew's quarters and headed for the top deck, wandering aimlessly as she tried desperately to quell the stinging sensation in her forearm. Eventually, the pain subsided and Janice sighed with satisfaction, before her gaze turned to the stars and she was distracted by the night sky. She wandered to the side of the ship and leaned over the banister, listening to the calming sound of the waves and the cool wind blowing through her hair.

Milos had been watching her, as she basked in her luxury and freedom. She had the love of his brother and the support of the entire crew, and would only gain more from there as she ascended in her life as a pirate. He slowly crept forwards with a lifeless stance, never blinking as he watched the unaware child. Janice was eventually drawn away from her daydreaming by the sound of slow footsteps and turned around to find the cause, only to suddenly find herself dazed from a sudden strike.

Janice was tackled to the ground by someone and took several moment to finally realise who it was through strained eyes. She tried desperately to scream for help, only for a pair of hands against her throat to impede her efforts. "You stole it all from me" Milo slurred as spit spilled through his grinning teeth, a face resembling nothing beyond pure malice staring down at the girl as she struggled. Janice's movements slowed and Milo felt her strength fade beneath his grip, and he cackled hoarsely as would have his revenge after all. "You should've died! Percy should've died!" He hissed venomously, "Well now is my chance to- ack!"

Milo was sent tumbling across the deck as a large wooden club struck the side of his head, but he soon jump to his feet and faced his attacker. Janice's vision cleared and she saw two brothers staring at eachother, her rescuer huffing with disbelief. "Milo…. No… it can'ne be" Poppy whimpered in horror, "Ye're the trai'or… Ye tried to kill the Captain". Milo was smiling by this time as he chuckled malevolently at his Scottish sibling, only to be caught off guard by a sudden rush and a swift strike. "Ye tried to kill Janice!" Poppy roared as he gripped Milo by the collar and landed blow after blow into him.

With little strength left after his beating, Milo was tossed back and collided with the base of the mast, showing little movement beyond shallow breaths. Poppy relaxed as his expression swapped slowly from rage to sorrow, questioning "Why, Milo? Why would ye do all of this?!" as he struggled to restrain his tearing eyes. "We be family! We only just reunited!" Poppy continued before pausing as Milo slowly stood up and glared at him. "Shut your gob, you slimy cur!" Milo snarled, "I can see past your honeyed lies. I know… You never cared for me… You would sooner protect that worthless brat then stand by your own flesh and blood!"

"What in Davy Jones' locker is going on up here?" called a voice from the Captain's cabin, all eyes turning to see Private Percy and several crewmates approaching them. Janice stood up with a held her throat and told her captain "Milo is the traitor, Percy! He tried to kill you and just tried to strangle me here". The colour drained from Percy's face as he turned to face the British betrayer, "I should've known! The Tartar Prison's have driven him mad no doubt! Hold him, men!" Within seconds after a brief struggle, a belligerent Milo had his arms bound behind his back by rope and was pushed to kneel before his captor.

"This poxy coward dare betray the crew of the Laughingstock! We should give him exactly what a traitor deserves" Percy encouraged, rousing a cheer from the crew. "Throw him overboard" called one pirate while another shouted "Let's hang him, Cap'n!", a third shouting "Make him walk the plank". "Enough!" Poppy suddenly barked, silencing the rowdy crew into submission. "He be a traitor and a fiend, but he be me brother" he stated, "I shall be the one to decide what happens to 'im". Percy and the crew were sceptical but had no rebuttals, and Percy gave a slow nod of agreement before he turned to take his leave.

The crew returned to their resting quarters, Janice was given a quick checkover by Dr. Heartfelt and Poppy dragged Milo to the brig. He pulled a cell door open and pushed him inside before violently slamming the cell door shut, locking it and spinning to take his leave without another word. Milo looked up and realised where he was before clambering desperately to the bars, wailing "Poppy! Wait! No, please! Don't leave me in here, brother!" Poppy paused and tilted his head slightly, muttering dryly "Ye be no brother of mine". Both pirates were quiet for a moment until Poppy took his leave, leaving Milo alone and trapped in his cage. Milo slid to the floor and curled into a ball, tears streaming down his eyes as he begged for safety from his doom.

* * *

The following morning, the crew went about their business and set sail within an hour, making great time carving through the ocean on their way to their next landing. On their way, they passed by an island that they would sooner avoid whenever possible, but their damages and destroyed supplies would not allow for such deviations to their travel. Nevertheless, the island sat there as the crew did their best to ignore its haunting presence, like a vicious animal awaiting the opportunity to ambush its prey.

Poppy stood guard of the stairway to the lower deck, watching intently for any sight of his brother. He had known that his brother was a lock-picker and was likely capable of escaping his cell, and the explosion on the ship had further ensured such a scenario. But soon, out of pure curiosity, Poppy descended the stars and made his way to the brig, hoping for at least one last chance to speak to his brother before they were separated once again. But as he approached Milo's cell, he was met with a startling revelation.

Milo was nowhere to be seen in his cell. In shock, Poppy tried to pull the door open and investigated, but was baffled to find the cell door was still locked. Poppy knew Milo might pick the lock, but what reason would he have to re lock it? And if he never left through the door, then where had he gone. Unlocking it and swinging it open, Poppy stopped inside and looked around for any sign of integral damage or possible escape routes. Soon enough, poppy's eyes fell upon a strange sight, a piece of parchment left on the floor. Poppy picked it up and read from it, and what he found left his heart shattering like glass.

* * *

Milo was roused from his sleep by the sound of clattering rocks echoing around him. His eyes opened and were immediately met with nothing but pure darkness. His arms were raised above his head and bound together with metallic bindings, but he was unable to see what bound them. He began struggling against his bindings and rocked back and forth as his breath quickened, desperately turning his head in every direction in the hopes of seeing where he is and what restrained him. His eyes eventually focused and the sight of rocks surrounded him, and he was left to confirm that he was in a cave of some sort. He wondered why he was in a cave and who had brought him he-.

"No."

Milo suddenly realised.

"Please no".

"Welcome back, Milo".

A lantern was lit and raised to the side of its carrier, illumination a horrific skull with soul-piercing eyes. "No! Not you again!" Milo whimpered pathetically as he struggled and thrashed hysterically against his bindings, the Skin Taker visibly bemused by this gesture. "Can you conceive how lonely I am?" Skin Taker questioned with a slight snicker, "When there is nothing that doesn't shriek as I draw near". With a sudden cackle, Skin Taker suddenly rushed at Milo, making him scream a second time and begin trembling with pure terror. The skeletal fiend roared with laughter at the miserable display, but he soon adopted a much more serious tone when next he spoke.

"Ever since I had recruited you, you've taken advantage of my good nature" he scowled "And you repay me with this defiance?" Skin Taker clenched his fist as he stepped towards Milo, leaning his face in and hovering mere inches away from Milo's own. "Why do you not openly serve me?" the undead abomination questioned, "Why must you keep your servitude to me a secret?" Milo remained silent, unwilling to offer any answer but terrified of the consequences if he didn't answer at all. Neither of which truly mattered to the Skin Taker, as he had already had guessed the answer.

"It is because ye are ashamed!" Skin Taker yelled in unmistakable rage, startling the petrified captive even further. "At least that miserable Horace was proud to be me servant!" he snarled insidiously, now pacing back and forth as he clenched his fists. He stopped and turned to Milo, yelling "But YE...ye are ashamed". Then all of the sudden, Milo suddenly felt the blade of a knife against his neck and the furious skeleton howled "...DO YE DENY IT?!"

Milo was speechless, as he was left considering his minimal options. He knew that saying something Skin Taker doesn't want to hear would likely condemn him, but the prolonged silence did not help the situation either. "No…" Milo squeaked pitifully, "I never meant to betray you… I just… my family… my friends". Those soulless eyes simply stared at him and Milo could sense the seething fury behind them; Skin Taker knew he was lying. The skeletal fiend hung his head and held his bony hand against his chest, his pride broken by this betrayal of his faith.

"Enough" slipped through the rocking jawbone as the conniving villain turned to face way from his prisoner, "I refuse to feel this shame for a second longer". He pulled his cape into the air and reached his arm inside, continuing as he said "You have proven yourself unworthy of serving me, and you are now useless to me". After a pause, an impish chuckle resounded within the cave as Skin Taker turned to face his captive again, revealing what he had retrieved from his cloak. "But to make up for the pain you've cause me" he growled as the blade of his knife glinted in the lantern's light, "I will pass some time enjoying myself… with my new toy".

Unwilling to contain himself as his inevitable demise slowly shambled towards him, Milo began screaming hysterically for help that would never come. Thoughts of those he had crossed haunted him like ghosts as they observed his torment. Poppy, Percy, Janice, the Jolly Hounds, even his beloved Sariah. He had seen all of them in that brief moment; all of them unforgiving of him for his ruthless acts of evil and malice. "I'm so sorry… please forgive me" Milo wheezed, repeating the word over and over without end. Skin taker listened as he repeated this dreary pledge for forgiveness, the words only fuelling his delight in going about his work upon his newest canvas.

That followed was fairly ugly, kids. Don't try this at home.


	9. Chapter 9 - The Battle of Little Bedford

**The Battle of Little Bedford**

_Fools amidst my company._

_I be your sworn enemy and the bane of your lives of piracy. I be the master of many evil forces within Candle Cove, and those among yourselves are no exception._

_Poppy, I speak to ye. Ye're brother Milo be a long-time servant of mine and has been driven to do many filthy acts by me every whim. But as of late, he has proven his loyalty to ye and threatened to sabotage me plans. For that, I be planning to make an example for all time, and all pirates will learn not to oppose me wrath. His punishment shall linger for a time, and his torment will be unequal to even the flames of hell._

_Stop me if ye dare, but ye be warned. I be waiting for ye._

* * *

Poppy was still and silent, unable to truly comprehend what he had just read. The past few days had been a rollercoaster of emotions and Poppy could never settle on a single thought. Only moments ago, he had hated his brother with all his heart and soul for his treachery. But with this sudden discovery, Poppy couldn't help but cringe in self-loathing as his face burned red and tears streamed down his single eye. The rest of the crew were equally mortified, especially Janice. Janice understood best of all what terror the Skin Taker instilled on the hearts of even the most bloodthirsty brigands.

Percy, demonstrating such terror, suddenly broke the deafening silence as he yelled "All hands, raise the anchor and drop the sails! Hard to port and to the open sea!" The crew remained motionless for a moment, sharing glances amongst eachother as the considered the situation. Eventually they obeyed and set to work. Janice, however, turned to look into Percy's eye with unbridles disgust. She had become accustom to Percy's cowardly acts, but this disregard for the life of one of his own crew could not be tolerated.

"Are we really gonna run away from this?!" Janice roared with burning red skin and fiery eyes, all crewmembers turning to stare at her for a moment. "Are we going to spend the rest of our pathetic lives running with our tails between our legs? And meanwhile that skeleton takes us out one by one". Poppy hadn't faced her but was listening intently, stared at the note as his rage built and his thirst for action became unbearable. He crushed the note in his grip and yelled "By the powers, the lass be right. We be having a chance to bring that monster down once and fer all". He turned as the crew faced him, adding "This be a chance we may never get again, so we be makin' it count!"

"Ye be fools, the lot of ye! We be doomed to suffer if we go in there!" Percy yelled as Poppy approached him, before stopping to tower over the squirming excuse for a captain. "I faced the Skin Taker before, and I can face him again" Poppy snarled before he tugged Percy to his, "But I am not abandonin' me family!" Poppy stepped away and stormed towards the stairwell leading to the helm, with intent to take control of the ship. In a fit of desperation and outrage, Poppy found himself in the path of a loaded flintlock held by his superior.

"If ye lay a single grubby finger on that wheel" Percy hissed as his Flintlock shook in his quaking grip, "I'll… I'll… uh". Percy lost his train of thought as several clicks sounded behind him as the entire crew had aimed their own pistols at him. Poppy stormed towards Percy and pulled the gun out of his clutch, before swiftly rendering the fool unconscious with a quick clock to the head. "Lock this idiot in the cabin and make sure he stays there" he called to the crew, the pirates all following this instruction with gusto as Poppy returned to the mantle.

The ship was turned to face the island and approached it, the crew arming themselves in preparation for this confrontation. The longboats were readied to be lowered into the water and Poppy had been preparing to lead the crew to land on the shore. Poppy instructed "I shall scout the island! Do'ne join me until I land!" and was answered with a salute from every deckhand present. But just as Poppy was about to lower himself into the ocean, he was surprised when Janice jumped into the raft with him.

"Janice! I told you to-" Poppy began, but Janice interrupted him when she explained "I don't want you on that Island alone". Janice scowled as she continued "Besides, I have my own score to settle with the Skin Taker". Poppy was reluctant, but since they had already landed in the water, Poppy caved and began rowing the pair to the shore. From the shore, and remaining unseen by those approaching, was the villain himself watched them through a telescope. He gave a malicious chuckle and closed the telescope and stuffed it into one of his cape's pockets. "Come now, have some fun," he spoke in a slow whisper as he slunk back into the shadows, "There is so much evil to be done!"

* * *

But as the vessel lingered a distance away from the shore and the longboat landed, the crew slowly became aware of something they had not expected. All eyes turned to the portside as even those on the island caught sight of what had emerged from around the corner of the island. It was the vessel dreaded by many on the seas, haunted by a damned crew and an inhuman captain. The threat of the Crackerjack loomed over the Laughingstock, intentions clear from the cheers and hollers resounding from the monsters that man's the tainted vessel. "Man the guns!" Nathan yelled as he himself ran to a cannon and prepared to load it, the crew rushing to ready the ship for the oncoming assault.

From the island, Poppy and Janice watched helplessly as the ship's turned slowly to face their cannons towards the other, seconds away from trading cannon fire. "They can't join us!" Poppy exclaimed as Janice held her hands to her mouth in horror, "But we may no' reach them in time". Poppy looked towards the mouth of the cave they stood before, "And every se'ond we waste, Milo's life be hangin' by a thread". The looked at eachother and nodded in understanding, Poppy drawing his sword as he said "Looks like we're on our own". Nervous but determined, the pair drew near the mouth of the cave and stepped inside, the darkness swallowing them until they were no longer in sight.

"Open fire!"

Cannons let loose a cacophony of deafening explosions and cannonballs were sent hurtling towards the opposing ships, leaving a path of destruction in their travels. From the very beginning, the Laughingstock was left at a disadvantage from the damage it has sustain over the past few weeks, from a lack of sufficient supplies and damaged woodwork. It took mere minutes for the Crackerjack to gain the home court advantage, and Horace the Horrible grinned as he revelled in the carnage he was to bring to his sworn enemies.

When the ships drifted close enough together, the pirates of the Crackerjack took the opportunity to board the derelict vessel. With a rallying cry, several villains swung from ropes hung from the mast of their ghostly ship, before landing across the gap and onto the deck of the Laughingstock. The pirates all drew their weapons and rushed to the first opponent they saw, swords and axes clashing against eachother and guns unloading between the pirates in a large climactic battle.

But as the war would wage for a time, something began to happen that none had expected. In spite of the clear advantage that the Crackerjack ship seemed to have over the Laughingstock, the same could not be said for the crew as the Laughingstock crew managed to take the advantage. Even without the leadership of both of their commanders, the crew had managed to find organisation to combat the repugnant renegades' mindless ferocity.

The head strikers, Calvary Stankoff and Hoody Hans, had found eachother and began their own duel. Calvary was struggling to land a strike upon the hooded creature that wouldn't be deflected by one of his hooks. Eventually, Hoody trapped Calvary's sword and pinned it to his side, leaving him vulnerable to his other hook. "You shouldn't've left our crew, ye treacherous cur. Horace will be delighted to see your head".

But before the hook handed lunatic could land the finishing blow, he was stunning by a knee to the gut and was sent stumbling into a nearby sail. He snarled and tried to rush his opponent, but soon realised that his hook was trapped in the metal pulley. Taking his chance, Calvary swung his sword and cut the rope, releasing the pulling and sending it plummeting into the water below with Hoody in tow. With a splash, Calvary watched as Hoody disappeared into the murky depths, sneering "You should've left when ye had the chance".

In the captain's cabin, Percy had started to recover from his head injury and got up groggily, desperately trying to figure out what was going on. He approached the door and saw the carnage that was taking place outside, immediately hiding behind the wall to avoid getting seen. He held his breath and hoped that his crew would somehow win the battle, even if he did nothing to help them. But as he sat still and remained quiet, he heard a significant clopping sound approaching from the far left of him. Upon turning, he was startled to find Sunny climbing through the cabin's left window, a pair of flintlocks readied for deadly use.

The moment Sunny had spotted him, Percy squealed like a child and burst through the doors, running like a maniac onto the deck of the ship. He would hear the sound of Sunny's boots following after him as he climbed the stairs to the helm, but his panic caused him to lose his footing and fall over onto the deck. He flipped onto his back and saw Sunny towering over him, aiming a flintlock at his temple as she cackles "No amount of deck swabbing will clean ye from the planks".

"Hey Sunny" called a voice from the lower deck, drawing the attention of both the pallid gunslinger and the cowering courier. They spotted Nathan on the lower deck waving at them with a smug grin on his face and his leg resting on a cannon aimed directly at them. The fuse had already almost burned away as he yelled to the startled Sunny "Mine is bigger than yours". With that, the cannon fired and Sunny was gone in an instant, sent soaring into the distance and plummeting into the ocean water beyond their range of sight. Percy was hiding behind the wheel and shaking uncontrollably, while Nathan drew his attention elsewhere in the battle.

* * *

Meanwhile, wielding torches in the dark bowels of Little Bedford, the terrified duo of Janice and Poppy pressed on into the cave in search of Milo. The darkness and the uncertainty was starting to take its toll, and Janice began to envision the Skin Taker striking from the blackness at every moment. However, as they rounded a corner, they saw a glimmer of light glimmering against the stone walls. In a hurry to escape the dark, they rushed around the bend and entered a larger portion of the cave, and was witness to a ghastly sight.

There was furniture and other homely accessories strewn about the chamber, vaguely resembling a house were it not for the grim nature of these objects. For the fabrics of the lampshades, the couch leathers and the curtains was used the skin of lord knows how many victims over the Skin Taker's career. All sewn together with string and some of them resembling the body part they came from, particularly some intact faces of children. The sight alone made Janice start to swoon with sensory overload, but her sights finally settled upon something truly wonderful.

It was Milo. Battered, bruised, bloodied, chained to the wall with his arms bound and raised in the air. Poppy almost screamed with surprise as he rushed over to his brother and checked on him, delighted to hear a shallow series of groans leaving his lips. Milo moaned and looked up to see his brother, his eyes widening and a strained smile. "Poppy…" he groaned before hanging his head again, and slowly added "Key… table". In an instant, Janice rushed to the nearby workbench and spotted the key in question, ignoring the volatile materials littered upon it as she took it with her.

With the shackles removed and his brother freed from his bindings, Poppy lifted Milo to his feet and wrapped is harms around his back to support him, exclaiming quietly "We need to get out of here, but I may not remember the way. And the Skin Taker is still out there". "There's another way" Milo grunted, nodding his head in the direction of a nearby tunnel, "I used it when I served… him". Wasting no time, the trio slowly made their way through the tunnel and kept their eye out for the nightmarish villain.

But unlike what was expected, they trio had found themselves stopping before a dead end, a sealed cavern with no sign of light. Upon the floor was a deep trench that ended in a blackened pool, churning and writing with ominous agitation. Janice neared the hole and crouched onto her knees before looking down, mesmerised by the ripples and the reflection. The longer she stared into it, the shapes and movements began to form into a seemingly consistent shape, though its nature could not be further than what a sane mind can comprehend. Turning away from the abomination, she turned to face the brothers as she ran back to them.

"This ain't a way out, Milo. Are ye sure that this be a- ARGH!" Poppy questioned before being immediately silenced by a sudden elbow to the face. Milo clocked his brother in the face and Poppy collapsed to the floor, unconscious. Janice stood watching in horror as Milo turned to face her with an insidious grin, before Janice yelled "Why did you do that?! We came to rescue you!" The voice she heard next chilled her to the bone, as Milo croaked "You're too late to save him". Smiling and eyes half lidden, Janice watched as Milo held either side of his head and pulled violently. Milo's skin stretched horrifically as offered no reaction beyond a dry chuckle, and Janice could do nothing but scream hysterically at what followed.

* * *

Milo's face split apart, and lying beneath was a skull with beady eyes.

* * *

"Ah, dear pirates, welcome to my home" the Skin-Taker greets as he stepped over the unconscious Poppy, "I hope that you weren't planning to leave anytime soon". Flustered and on the brink of a breakdown, Janice tried her best to dodge out of the way of the monster. But in all her swiftness, Skin Taker had outmanoeuvred her and tugged on her collar, holder her close and embracing her in Milo's dead flesh. As she struggled, Skin Taker led her to the black pool and forced her to look down inside it.

"I know what you saw in there, my dear" he informed her, "It is what waits for your soul". But as the abomination began to manifest, Skin tugged her away and said "But not until I am finished with you first". With tears in her eyes, Janice looked up at the bloodied fiend as his question "Does all this make sense to you now?" He turned to look at the black pool and explained "All I need of you is your skin, and that is exactly what I'm going to get". As a sudden unearthly moan echoed from the pool, Skin Taker concluded "And the Abyssal Kingdom can have you when I'm done".

Unbeknownst to the cackling demon, however, his plot to ambush the Laughingstock with the help of Horace and his crew hadn't worked as he'd planned. Against the overwhelming odds and the loss of a majority of their crew, the Crackerjack was forced to wave the white flag and grant to victory to their opponents. The victors rounded out all the remaining crew and had them brought to the deck of the Laughingstock. Only two pirates had not been accounted for, as Horace the Horrible and Phillip Fly had vanished without a trace.

As the defeated pirates were brought to their knees and bound in irons, Percy crept out from his hiding place and looked over the crew. The moment they had all turned to look at him, his heart stopped at the sight. Never before had he been faced with such discrediting gazes as they all awaited the same cowardly instructions he always gives. He was silent for a moment and closed his eyes before, his expression turned cold and he barked "Prepare the longboats, Arm yourselves and head for the shore!" All at once, the crew's eyes all widened in surprised and began running about the ship with delighted grins on their faces.

Unknown to the rejoicing crew however, a lurking witness stalked the deck of the Crackerjack with intent to exact revenge for this atrocity. He hid behinds a cannon and aimed it carefully at the deck of the ship. "You got lucky this time" the Insectoid villain sneered with a buzz, "But your luck runs out here!" But just as the cannon was seconds from firing, Nathan caught sight of Phillip and saw the fuses on the cannons burning. In a panic, he drew his gun and fired it at the creature, Phillip receiving a fatal shot to the chest as he lost grip of the cannon's barrel. The cannon fired and crew all duck in fright as it passed over them, soaring straight towards the island and hitting the stone wall of the cave.

The impact brought much of the cave collapsing from the inside as rocks and stalagmites came loose, each larger collision of crocks further straining the structure of the cave. The activity was not unnoticed by the three occupants, as the Skin Taker were all knocked off their feet as the cave steadily imploded. They both looked about as the ground beneath them began to split apart, beginning at the black pool and stretching towards the entrance of the chamber. As the gap grew wider, the black pool spilled into it and flowed into a river until it had flooded then entirety of the growing chasm. Finally, the cave in ended and the chasm was over several meters wide and over a hundred feet deep, the bottom almost submerged in the dark surroundings of the cavern.

Janice was laying across from the room and Poppy was leaning precariously over the edge of the pit, while the skin tacker had managed to get to his feet. He turned around and spotted Janice standing still with a look of bewilderment, pulling out his knife and preparing to put it to good use. As he crept towards her, Poppy had been roused from his unconsciousness and lifted himself off the ground. He looked up and strained his eyes to focus, finally focussing on the sight of Skin Taker sneaking up on Janice. Gasping in shock, he jumped up and pulled his sword, the sound echoing within the chamber and down into the pit.

"Skin Taker!" the red bearded rogue howled as he pointed his sword towards his adversary, "Ye're fight be with me!" Skin Taker paused, offering a backward glance as he flipped his knife casually in the air. "Put it away. It will have no effect on me" he groaned with a sinister giggle, turning to point the knife towards the peg legged pirate. "If you were to use that sword on anyone, use it on that young lass," he stares as he points towards the girl behind her, "Her skin would be the perfect addition to my top hat". He pointed the knife calmly up towards the side of his hat, gesturing towards a patch in his fleshy top hat with tatters in it.

With his knife pointed away, Poppy took his chance and lunged at the skeleton, but Skin Taker was secretly on the guard and the strike went wide. From there, the pair exchanged several strokes and deflected others, Janice cautiously remaining away as she searched desperately for something to use or some way to assist her protector. Poppy and Skin Taker began wrestling as their blade grinded violently against eachother from the pressure. "Ye've been gone from the Abyssal Kingdom fer too long" Poppy grunted through clenched teeth, "It's high time ye were sent back to where ye belong".

"Never!" slithered through the Skin Taker's teeth as he jabbed the tip of his knife into Poppy's hand, causing him to yelp in pain and lose his grip on his sword. The sword hit the corner of the cave and Skin Taker took his chance to incapacitate his opponent, kicking him to the floor and preparing to plunge the dagger into his heart. But as he was about to deliver the killing blow, his attention was drawn to the sound of clattering metal beside him. He turned around and was intrigued to find Janice pointing the tip of the sword towards him.

He stared down at the sword and nonchalantly stepped towards the small child, his footsteps silent to make way for the rocks occasionally cascading into the black pit below. But amidst her terror, Janice had noticed something peculiar about where the sound of the rocks was coming from, as it seemed to originate directly underneath the Skin Taker's feet. She heeded this fact and carefully stepped away from the edge of the pit with her sword still raised, until Skin Taker stood directly before her with the tip of the sword pressed against the centre of his ribcage.

"Have you learned nothing from that hairy fool, child?" he spat as he lifted his hand to reveal his knife to his quaking victim, "It be the last mistake you make". Janice heard a slight noise emanating from the ground before her, her eyes descending to the sight of sand slipping into a small crevice that lay between her and the villain. She came up with a plan and prayed it would work, before she draw the sword from the villain's ribs and plunged it as hard as she could into the ground beneath her feet. The moment the sword slipped inside the gap, Janice pushed her whole body against the blade as the Skin Taker watched on in confusion.

Suddenly, a resounding crack erupted from the ground around the sadistic skeleton and the ground began to sake beneath him. Within a second, the platform he had been standing on came loose from its foundations and began it's descent into the pit below, dragging the shrieking Skin Taker with it. Janice watched from the ledge as he clung desperately to the stone and howled, reaching his claw towards the girl in vain as she grew further and further from his ruthless grasp. His doom was met when he landed in the black pool and the stone dragged him below the surface, the both of them disappearing with no sign beyond the enormous, blackened splash.

Janice relieved an exhausted sigh at the miraculous outcome of this nightmare, but her attention was soon demanded again as she spotted Poppy. In his struggle to upright himself in the scuffle, his peg leg had slipped over the edge and dragged him with it. "Poppy!" Janice screamed as she leapt to his side, grabbing desperately for Poppy as he began slipping into the pit. Poppy gave a short yell as Janice caught a hold of his arm, the modest girl pulling as hard as she could and buying him enough time to gain the strength to pull himself up.

Beyond all strength that they could garner, Poppy and Janice collapsed side by side and desperately gasped for breaths to quell their racing hearts and burning muscles. "He be… gone…" Poppy huffed as his fists clenched, pained as he looked to the edge of the precipice, "And he took me brother with him". He ground his teeth in rage as he snarled "I hope somethin' special be waiting fer him in that dreadful place!" Janice crawled over and wrapped her arms as far around the peg legged rogue, exclaiming "Thank goodness I didn't lose you too". Poppy rested his head and wrapped an arm around her, the pair embracing eachother in victory as he answered "And I'm glad he didn't take you from me either".

* * *

Several minutes of fumbling wearily through the dark cave, Poppy and Janice had finally made it to the surface and found the Laughingstock had been victorious in the battle. Reinvigorated by this fact and the sight of several longboats approaching, the pair rushed to the shoreline and trudged through the seawater before flopping ungraciously into the boats. "Thank the lord you lot are alive" Nathan greeted as he slowly rowed him and Janice back to the ship. Janice was on the verge of falling asleep as she leaned against Nathan, the latter leaving her be to recover from her monumental deed.

As soon as they had been hoisted onto the top deck and stepped out of the boats, they were witnesses to a satisfying sight to behold. The remainder of the Crackerjack pirates were on their knees in irons, lined up in a file and completely harmless. Among them was the infamous bloated cook Black Teeth, likely hiding away from the fight inside the kitchen. "What's to do with these godless freaks of nature?" Percy stood before a captured prisoner and answered "The crew seems to favour we hand them over to the NHPC. Personally, I don't recommend it".

Janice looked over the crew and her eyes suddenly fell on a particular face, on that she had not seen in the time she had known Horace's crew of filth. It was no more than a small boy, but mutilated almost beyond recognition by dark elements, leaving half the boy's body corrupted by rotting flesh. He greatly resembled one of the small creatures she had seen in the Abyssal Kingdom, but this only further pushed her to pity the poor boy. The boy saw her and she finally saw the tears spilling from his only eye, the other seemingly stitched shut in a cross pattern.

"Please… end it…"

His words rocked her to the core. She had once spoken such words in her lowest moments and contemplated such dreadful things, and it pained her to find another her own age to feel such ways. "Who is this boy?" Janice asked Poppy, the latter turning his gaze down and nodding in recognition of the boy. "This be Joe Shortlegs. He'd been the cabin boy for them curs" Poppy described, his voice softening as his words were spoken. "What's going to happen to him" Janice questioned with clear concern in her voice "I hope you're not gonna kill him too!"

"As we should! Don't let him fool you" Private Percy intervened as he stepped between Janice and the captive, "He be almost fifty years old and his body is cursed with undeath. He is just as soulless as the rest of them". The boy spoke again, "Please… just let me die… I will thank you". Janice's spirit melted as she was forced to consider the torment the boy had been put through in his time, and she could not fathom any possible means of helping him. She shut her eyes and slowly turned away, hiding her eyes and by extension her tears from the others to see.

"Fer now, lead these scoundrels to the brig" Poppy barked as he followed after the weeping child to console her, the crew pulling the villains to their feet and leading them below deck. Poppy leaned over the banister and rubbed the girl's shoulder in a gesture of reassurance. "It be a dreadful task. But it be what comes with being a pirate" he explained, "Ye may not know it now, but there be fates worse than death in this world". Meanwhile, the crew had returned to the top deck and insured the captive's imprisonment, Percy then anxiously questioning "Are ye certain that all of the Crackerjack crew?" The crew looked at eachother curiously, Percy then continuing "There is one Crackerjack Pirate I haven't seen this whole time. When on god's green earth is Ho-"

"ARGH!" a voice called as a figure repelled down a rope onto the ship deck, immediately drawing a sword and a hook out and tracking them about wildly. The crew were startled and several were incapacitated by the barrage of strikes from the red coated bandit. Percy fell to the floor as Horace the Horrible stood above him, looking down into his eyes as the Private's terrified reflection glistened in his monocle. "Ye haven't won yet, ye squabbling bilge rrrrats" Horace growled through his toothy grin, "I can just find a new crew, rrright afterrr I brrring an end to the lot of ye wrrrrrretched excuses ferrr scallywags".

Towards the end of his boast, a sword collided with his as it was raised and he turned to face his challenger, Poppy standing at the ready as the crew scattered away from the two combatants. "Ye don't know how long I've waited ferrr this moment, Poppy" Horace huffed with a chuckle as the two pirate's circled eachother, Poppy answering simply "Likewise, ye foul hell-spawn". With that, they had begun their final battle, a battle that would determine the fate of either pirate and possible even the crew itself.

Both men were quick on their feet, and even quicker with their hands as they struck eachother's sword in search of an opening. In spite of his adversary's advantages, Poppy was pushing Horace to the stairs and they both climbed it to the helm, neither fazed by the shifting terrain not their awkward positions. But as the duel reached a crescendo, the two swords began swirling together in a brash ploy to loose the other from their wielder's grip. At last, a victor was decided when Horace's blade was cast into the air, hurtling over the side of the ship and landing in the water to sink to the murky depths.

Stunned by his loss, a now petrified Horace retreated and stepped up to a nearby line, trying to reach desperately for a rope and likely seeking to swing back to his ship and make an escape. Unfortunately for him, he was not quick enough to escape Poppy's blade as it plunged its way deep into his back, soon protruding through the other side for him to see. He gargled and wheezed from his enclosing fate before he was knocked back by a strike of Poppy's peg leg, sending him clumsily toppling over the side of the banister and splashing into the water below.

Poppy hurried to the side of the ship and peered into the ocean waters below, finding exactly the sight he had wanted to see for years. Horace the Horrible, pirate captain of the cursed Crackerjack, ruthless servant of the Skin Taker and bane of many pirates across Candle Cove; a corpse floating limply in the waves without any sign of movement. Poppy raised his fist in the air and cheered "Hoorah, me hearties! Horace is defeated! We are victorious!"

From this cheer, the entire ship was swarmed with chants and cheers of excitement and victory. Even Percy and Janice found delight in their success and joined in the celebration. They soon prepared their ship to leave for open sea as they sang a song of heroics in honour of their saviour, vowing never to return to their abysmal island ever again. As the island shrank into the distant, the crew had begun preparing a party to spoil themselves for their great deeds this day, expecting to be written in history for their the two seemingly impossible acts they had managed to prove possible in rapid succession.

* * *

Percy had spent the remainder of the day playing his calliope, trying to come up with lyrics to fit a song dedicated to their becoming pirate legends. The crew had learned their lessons from last time and then immediately forgot it as they drowned themselves in liquor, singing to Percy's calliope music and making up their own lyrics as they went along. Janice had enjoyed herself, but soon sought solitude as the retreated to the unoccupied helm, leaning on the rail to go about her newfound stargazing hobby.

Here, she now could drown out the sounds and sights she had come to enjoy when it comes to being a pirate, making way to truly consider her future and what options she had. Ever since she had come to this place, she had been given both reasons to want to stay and want to leave in equal measure. But then she considered what it would mean to return home, and what worth it may have since she believed nothing would improve if she went back. She smiled as she came to a conclusion, as her choice was quite simple since only one of her two options would at least be exciting and filled with adventure. She nodded to herself; she was never gonna leave Candle Cove. Ever.

She spent her time so lost in her thoughts, she had been caught off guard when a palm of her shoulder and a red beard met her sights. "Hahar, me lass. Ye got the spirit of even the greatest pirates" Poppy chuckled with a warm smile beneath his red moustache, "And don'ne ye let anyone speak different". They both stared off into the sky as Janice answered "I be appreciating yer words, First Mate. Ye be great company on this starry night". Poppy smiled with a raised eyebrow, astonished by her accent before the pair burst out laughing.

Once they'd calmed, Poppy sighed and said "Ye be a grea' member of the crew. Few among us had been as brave, as smart or even as ruthless as ye've been". He took off his hat and lowered it onto Janice's until her whole head had been engulfed, Poppy chuckling "Ye may even be a great cap'n of the Laughin'stock". "Well… as captain" Janice raised her finger in a regal manner, "Me first command would be to change that stupid name". Poppy was left clinging to the banister without breath as Janice laughed by him.

The ship floated gently in the ocean without a care in the world; a perfect image to show the great aspects of a pirate's life.

What adventures awaited; that perhaps be a story to tell another day.

**THE END**


	10. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

In another corner of the world, Melrose had finished her classes and was heading home in the rain, soaked and chilled to the bone as she approached her front door. Her thoughts had been on little else beyond the rain and her rush home for shelter, but a certain someone had found room within her head. She had wondered about Janice, and her absence from the family for several months now, and how things were going to be as time passed on.

Towards the beginning, she had been glad to know Janice had gone missing and would not return, but those thoughts had soured in time and Melrose felt herself maturing beyond such bitter contemplations. She began to consider her behaviour towards the girl and would at times find herself overwhelmed with guilt and regret. Several times she had desired to search for her long lost sibling, but her anguish had restrained her and left her suffering in silence for her misdeeds. For now though, she had best get inside before she became sick from either the rain or the cold wind.

However, things were about to get much words for the family. From a field of vegetation opposite to the house, lurking within the foliage and the peering through the leaves, a figure lay in wait. He watched the house as the girl shut the door behind her, likely feeling safe from any possible danger. But she could not be more wrong, as the lurking fiend clicked his rocking teeth together in anticipation.

"We are not in Kansas anymore".


End file.
